As most Americans remain focused on the newly nominated Democrat Kamala Harris and the ever-controversial GOP nominee Donald Trump, the 2024 presidential election’s independent candidate is getting the short end of the stick when it comes to positive PR.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who launched his bid for president in the fall of 2023, after parting ways with the Democratic party, is being smacked with a seemingly never-ending slew of negative headlines. The media is not giving him a break when it comes to the odd stories they choose to throw on the front page, using familiar hyperbole to paint a dramatic picture of the independent candidate.
Vanity Fair pictured Kennedy beside a barbecued animal which the outlet hinted was a dog, sparking drama despite the politician’s insistence that the animal was actually a goat. The New York Times also reported that he had told reporters that part of his brain had been eaten by a parasitic worm—not the most flattering portrayal of someone trying to become the face of the United States.
Most recently, The New Yorker published an article which revealed that Kennedy had left a dead bear cub in Central Park back in 2014, attempting to make the animal appear to have been fatally struck by a bicycle. The candidate resolved the decade-old mystery in a video prior to the article’s publication.
The third-party candidate has not only been left to deal with unnecessary drama from past oddities but has also suffered the consequences in the polls. Basil Smikle, a Democratic strategist, has noted that the negative headlines “don’t help” Kennedy’s presidential bid, adding that he has “failed” in “creating a movement” to boost his campaign.
Three months ago, Kennedy had a 42% overall favorability rating and 57% support among 18 to 34-year-old voters. At the time of that survey, 26% of Democrats and 23% of Republicans indicated they were more likely to vote for a third-party candidate considering that Trump and Biden were on the ticket.
But today, with Biden having been replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris—who shows notable popularity in the polls despite experts warning the numbers may not dictate the election’s outcome—Kennedy is showing consistent and majority unfavorable views from voters, according to the latest polls.
