Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s interview with the New York Times podcast The Run-Up went off the rails a bit when host Astead Herndon presented the independent presidential candidate as a potential spoiler who was “too insulated from the consequences of elections.”
In setting up the podcast, the Times noted that Kennedy is “well known for his family lineage,” and he countered by rejecting the “spoiler” label being pushed on him while accusing the newspaper of being an “instrument of the Democratic Party,” according to Fox News.
“My wife would have never let me run if I couldn’t win,” Kennedy said, referring to actress Cheryl Hines.
“I’m offering a vision to Americans that they’re not getting. 70% of people in this country do not want a contest between Trump and Biden. Don’t you feel that those people should have an option?” Kennedy said, after pointing out that he did not do any polling on whether he would pull votes from President Biden or former President Donald Trump.
“That was not the purpose of our polling. Our polling we did was to see if I can win,” he added. “And the polling indicated that I could win as an independent… My purpose is to win the election.”
“If there was any evidence that you would help one candidate or another win, would that cause you to drop out?” Herndon asked.
“No,” Kennedy responded.
Herndon played the “privilege” card, suggesting the candidate was blind to the consequences of his candidacy.
“Isn’t that kind of a privileged position that you have, of taking the position that The New York Times is not going to allow those people, those Americans, who don’t want to see a rerun of this contest?” RFK Jr. pushed back. “Don’t you think they deserve something or are you going to sit there and say nobody should do that because I’m scared of this guy or I’m scared of that guy?”
“The reason that we have pressured Democrats about the way that they set up Biden and about Republicans about the way that they set up Trump is because of that very fact, because of the fact that most Americans do not want these two options,” Herndon said.
Kennedy shot back, “Listen, The New York Times is essentially an instrument of the Democratic Party.”
“I understand you’re making an institutional argument,” Herndon replied.
“You’ve been making institutional arguments against me since this started,” Kennedy said. “You’re an instrument of the DNC and of course you’re going to try to get people — your job, doing what you’re doing, is to try to spin this some way that is going to help Biden and hurt Trump and get rid of any threat to that.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
- Mel Gibson speculates on whether there’s a ‘purpose’ behind devastating LA fires - January 11, 2025
- Biden says any remaining pardons could be based on who Trump is critical of - January 11, 2025
- Intel analyst says Iranian missiles smuggled across southern border, Trump travels altered - January 4, 2025
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.