Republicans liked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. just fine — that is until he decided not to run for president as a Democrat.
Now, they are concerned that the anti-vaxxer who even his own relatives think is a bit unhinged could hurt the GOP’s chances to reclaim the White House next year.
A former Democrat, Kennedy announced this week that he will be seeking the presidency as an independent.
Regardless of his famous family name, the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy doesn’t have a chance of winning the election. The only question is whether he can siphon off enough votes from the major party nominees to be a spoiler.
Since Robert Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine paranoia and public health conspiracy theories appeal more to likely Republican voters, it’s the GOP that is now the most worried.
Consider how quickly the tone has changed from the campaign of Donald Trump, the GOP front-runner. Two weeks ago, Trump said of Kennedy, “I like him a lot.” This week a Trump spokesman said Kennedy was a fraud, a liberal pretending to be a conservative. Sure doesn’t sound as if Trump likes him any longer.
