\n<\/p>\n
Why did I spend the entire weekend reading about the dumbest member of the Kennedy family? Likely because Donald Trump<\/strong>\u2019s death grip on the Republican Party<\/a> is as strong as ever, indictments be damned. Like it or not\u2014and most of us do not\u2014Trump still leads his closest competitor, Ron DeSantis<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> \u201cby at least 30 points in the three national polls conducted mostly or entirely after the news of the federal indictment broke.\u201d Republicans appear stuck: Trump is increasingly looking like the eventual GOP presidential nominee, yet<\/a> \u201c56% of Americans think Trump should drop out of the 2024 presidential.\u201d You can almost smell the panic.<\/p>\n Enter the spoiler candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/strong>, Joe Biden<\/strong>\u2019s long shot Democratic primary challenger who has recently been getting some high-profile support from figures associated with the right. Elon Musk<\/strong> hosted a Twitter Spaces for the raging anti-vaxxer, who not too long ago had to apologize<\/a> for suggesting the plight of the unvaccinated in America was worse than that of Anne Frank\u2019s. After Peter Hotez,<\/strong> a pediatrician and vaccine expert, tweeted critically<\/a> about a Joe Rogan<\/strong> interview with Kennedy, both Musk and Rogan defended RFK Jr., taking aim<\/a> at Hotez by suggesting he debate Kennedy\u2019s claims on Rogan\u2019s show. Wealthy Republican and DeSantis supporter<\/a> David Sacks<\/strong><\/a> hosted a fundraiser for<\/a> the guy. Former Twitter CEO and facial hair enthusiast Jack Dorsey<\/strong> endorsed<\/a> him too. (Dorsey has a habit of embracing unelectable candidates: In 2019 he donated to both<\/a> Andrew Yang<\/strong> and Fox News favorite Tulsi Gabbard.<\/strong>) Steve Bannon<\/strong> is apparently a huge RFK Jr. supporter, floating Kennedy<\/a> as \u201can excellent choice for President Trump to consider\u201d as a running mate. Roger Stone<\/strong> called a Trump-Kennedy ticket a \u201cdream.\u201d Infowars\u2019 Alex Jones<\/strong> was struck by Kennedy\u2019s anti-vaccine conspiracies and told listeners<\/a> he was \u201cdefinitely awake.\u201d Turning Point USA\u2019s Charlie Kirk<\/strong> and QAnon-linked Michael Flynn<\/strong> both said they like the guy as a presidential candidate too. So why are all these right-wingers supporting a Democrat? It could be that he kind of sounds like them: He talks about government institutions betraying the trust of the American public, and published a whole book attacking Anthony Fauci.<\/strong> But there\u2019s also very likely another reason.<\/p>\n It seems important to mention here that Kennedy, to put it mildly, is a crank. As conservative Noah Rothman<\/strong><\/a> wrote in National Review,<\/em> \u201cKennedy has promoted the view that the COVID vaccines were concocted only to enrich the medical establishment<\/a>, that 5G cell towers are designed to \u2018control our behavior<\/a>,\u2019 and that Microsoft founder Bill Gates<\/strong> is engaged in an effort to \u2018genetically modify<\/a>\u2019 humanity.\u201d He\u2019s blamed mass shootings on antidepressants<\/a> and told Musk and Sacks<\/a> that his \u201cposition on gun control<\/a> is I\u2019m not going to take away anybody\u2019s guns.\u201d He believes Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine is \u201ca setup by the neocons and the CIA<\/a>.\u201d He wants to \u201cseal the border permanently<\/a>\u201d and went on Jordan Peterson<\/strong>\u2019s podcast to suggest he believes that kids are trans because they are \u201cswimming through a soup of toxic chemicals<\/a>.\u201d I don\u2019t know any mainstream Democrats who believe anything resembling this m\u00e9lange of conspiracy theories. If you\u2019re wondering what his family thinks about him, in 2019 his siblings and nephews wrote in Politico<\/em><\/a> magazine, \u201cWe love Bobby. He is one of the great champions of the environment\u2026. We stand behind him in his ongoing fight to protect our environment. However, on vaccines he is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n For years RFK Jr. has lurked in the shadows as the anti-vaxxer Kennedy; now his politics not only have a base among the MAGA right\u2014he\u2019s proving politically expedient for Republicans as well.<\/p>\n