Robert F. Kennedy JR. hails from a long line of political history. The current independent running for office is the son of the famous U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of the historic 35th President, John F. Kennedy. Aside from being born into fame and recognition, the current 2024 Independent Party candidate has brought media recognition back to his family’s name after announcing his run for office. However, this isn’t the only thing that has heightened the candidate’s recent publicity. Former President Donald Trump, who is now the presumptive 2024 Republican Presidential nominee, has consistently bashed Kennedy during primaries to boot him out of the race. Kennedy’s supporters feel as though Trump’s slander against him only increases the chances of Kennedy securing the 2024 election victory.
On Monday, RFK JR. held a fundraiser in a downtown Boston hotel, the same hotel he initially announced his run for office in just a year prior. The fundraiser’s attendees, one after the other seemed enthusiastic about their candidate and claimed the public outcry from presidential opponents such as Donald Trump would only benefit RFK JR.
One of the fundraiser’s recipients, Massachusetts resident Renata Letinowska stated that the negative view both Republicans and Democrats have on Kennedy is a positive thing because it brings awareness to the fact of Kennedy running in general.
However, it seems Kennedy’s outcome of success could go both ways. Kennedy has been open about ant-vaccination theories, which could be a controversial factor if voters are to learn more about the candidate. A Monmouth University poll released the same day as Kennedy’s fundraiser, stated that about half of voters were aware of Kennedy’s past controversial claims regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic and his current stance on vaccinations, which then proved that his poll numbers hardly increased. The survey was one of many that have proven that Kennedy, regardless of viewpoints, could still take votes away from both parties.
