(NewsNation) — Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy took part in a discussion on Twitter Spaces Monday, promoting his campaign as he challenges President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination for 2024.
Kennedy appeared on Twitter after Instagram temporarily blocked his campaign account due to his anti-vaxx comments. Twitter owner Elon Musk invited Kennedy to appear on his platform in response.
Kennedy is considered a long-shot for the nomination. While he is the son of monumental Democratic figure Bobby Kennedy, his views also set him at odds with many in his party.
Kennedy also held a town hall on Sirius Radio, where he tried to distance himself from Biden’s policies, including when it comes to the war in Ukraine.
“Biden has surrounded himself with neo-cons who, for people who don’t know, are a group of people that emerged in the late 90s and early 2000s, really around 1997, who, who believed that the collapse of the Soviet Union meant that the United States had earned the ability to rule the world,” Kennedy said. “I think we had a significant role in provoking the Russians to invade Ukraine.”
It’s a position most mainstream politicians would disagree with, regardless of party. Aside from Ukraine, Kennedy’s town hall was light on policy and heavier on his personal story.
Kennedy is not a typical Democrat. On the one hand, he is for addressing climate change, but also a big supporter of the second amendment. Kennedy has argued against gun restrictions, while many Democrats have supported gun control laws.
Kennedy’s biggest focus is, he said, the government’s lack of honesty. He said the public can’t trust government agencies, and has said big tech and corporations are working with the government to monopolize the economy and censor the public.
Still, the Kennedy name holds some weight in Democratic politics, even though the family has sort of disavowed him because of his views. He’s also running at at time when many Democrats are expressing concerns about Biden’s age.
So far, Kennedy is polling better than many would assume, coming in at 16% or 17% compared to Biden’s 60%. Still, he has liabilities with voters including his vocal opposition to vaccines. Kennedy has pushed false theories linking vaccinations to autism, which have been disproven by science.
Kennedy also brought up the issue of debates, saying he would like to debate the president, but thinks that a debate would be a disadvantage for Biden.