Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

American politician, environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine activist, and conspiracy theorist (born 1954)
(Redirected from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.)

Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (born January 17, 1954) is an American politician, radio host, activist, and attorney in environmental law. He hosted the radio program Ring of Fire. He is also a vaccine hesitancy activist, and as a result, he has frequently promoted information regarding them.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy in 2024
United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
Nominee
Assuming office
TBD
PresidentDonald Trump
DeputyJim O'Neill (nominee)
SucceedingXavier Becerra
Personal details
Born
Robert Francis Kennedy Jr.

(1954-01-17) January 17, 1954 (age 70)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political partyLibertarian (since 2023)[1]
Other political
affiliations
Spouse(s)
Emily Black
(m. 1982; div. 1994)
(m. 1994; died 2012)
(m. 2014)
Children6
Parents
RelativesKennedy family
Education
Occupation
  • Environmental lawyer
  • Writer
  • Anti-vaccine activist

Kennedy Jr. was an Independent candidate for President of the United States in the 2024 presidential election. He ran for the Democratic nomination against President Joe Biden before becoming an Independent. He ended his campaign in August 2024 to support former President Donald Trump's campaign.

In November 2024, President-elect Trump nominated Kennedy Jr. to serve as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Early life

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Kennedy was born on January 17, 1954 in Washington, D.C. to Ethel Skakel Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy.[2] He is the nephew of John F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy. Kennedy studied at Harvard University, University of Virginia School of Law, and at Pace University School of Law.

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Kennedy Jr. began his career as an assistant district attorney in New York City. In the mid-1980s, he joined two nonprofits focused on environmental protection.[3] His work at Riverkeeper created a long-term environmental legal standards. Kennedy won legal battles against large corporate polluters.

Kennedy Jr. became a professor of environmental law at Pace University School of Law in 1986.[4] In 1987, Kennedy founded Pace's Environmental Litigation Clinic. He was a supervising attorney and co-director there until 2017.[5] He founded the nonprofit environmental group Waterkeeper Alliance in 1999, serving as the president of its board until 2020.[6]

Anti-vaccination activism

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Since 2005, Kennedy has supported anti-vaccine misinformation.[7] and public-health conspiracy theories,[8] including the false claim that vaccines cause autism.[9] Kennedy has said that he supports medical freedom and does not believe the government should be involved with public health matters. He has been criticized by medical experts for his views.[10][11]

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been a figure in COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in the United States.[12] Many of his false health claims have been against Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, and Joe Biden.

Kennedy Jr. has written books including The Real Anthony Fauci (2021) and A Letter to Liberals (2022).

2024 presidential campaign

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In April 2023, Kennedy announced his plans to run for President of the United States, challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination in the 2024 election.[13] In October 2023, he withdrew from the Democratic nomination to run as an Independent.[14]

In August 2024, Kennedy Jr. suspended his campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump.[15]

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services

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On November 14, 2024, President-elect Trump nominated Kennedy Jr. to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services for his second administration.[16]

Personal life

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Kennedy was married to Emily Ruth Black from 1982 until they divorced in 1994. He was married to Mary Richardson from 1994 until her death in 2012. In 2014, he married actress Cheryl Hines. He has six children. Kennedy is a Catholic.[17]

Kennedy began having short-and-long-term memory loss in 2010. In a 2012, he said that his neurological issues were because of "a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died".[18] He also said that he had mercury poisoning from eating a lot of tuna fish.[18][19][20]

In July 2024, Vanity Fair reported that in the late 1990s, when he was in his 40s, Kennedy sexually harassed Eliza Cooney, a 23-year-old part-time babysitter for his children.[21] Kennedy Jr. called this story "garbage" and untrue.[21]

References

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  1. @LPNational (November 15, 2024). "RFK Jr. is a registered member of the Libertarian Party, who spoke and attended our 2024 convention, and who aligns with us on a multitude of issues" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 15, 2024. Retrieved November 15, 2024 – via Twitter. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 14, 2024 suggested (help)
  2. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., The Huffington Post.
  3. Agee, J'nelle (March 18, 2017). "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Resigns from Riverkeeper". Spectrum News. Archived from the original on October 4, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  4. "Robert F. Kennedy, Jr". JW Howard Attorneys. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  5. Smith, Steve (April 29, 2015). "RFK Jr. to address College of Law graduates". Nebraska Today. Archived from the original on October 4, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  6. "Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Resigns as Waterkeeper Alliance President". Waterkeeper Alliance. November 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  7. Multiple sources:
  8. Multiple sources:
  9. Mnookin, Seth (January 11, 2017). "How Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Distorted Vaccine Science". Scientific American. Archived from the original on January 12, 2017. For more than a decade, Kennedy has promoted anti-vaccine propaganda completely unconnected to reality.
  10. Lamas, Daniela (April 24, 2024). "Skepticism Is Healthy, but in Medicine, It Can Be Dangerous". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024.
  11. Kennedy, Robert F. Jr. (2021). The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5107-6680-8.
  12. Nagourney, Adam (February 26, 2022). "A Kennedy's Crusade Against Covid Vaccines Anguishes Family and Friends". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 28, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  13. Bradner, Eric; Wright, David (2023-04-05). "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. files paperwork to run for president as a Democrat". CNN.
  14. Gibson, Brittany; Zhang, Andrew (October 9, 2023). "RFK Jr. announces he will run as an independent candidate". Politico. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  15. Steinhauser, Paul (August 22, 2024). "Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to endorse Trump for president, court filing shows". Fox News. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  16. Dorn, Sara (2024-11-14). "Trump Taps RFK Jr. As Secretary Of Health And Human Services: Here Are All The Conspiracies He's Promoted". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  17. "A natural devotion". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  18. 18.0 18.1 Pengelly, Martin (May 8, 2024). "Robert F Kennedy Jr says health issue caused by dead worm in his brain". The Guardian. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  19. Craig, Susanne (May 8, 2024). "R.F.K. Jr. Says Doctors Found a Dead Worm in His Brain". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  20. Nirappil, Fenit (May 8, 2024). "RFK Jr. revealed he had a parasitic brain worm. Here's what to know". Washington Post. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  21. 21.0 21.1 Wendling, Mike (July 2, 2024). "'I am not a church boy': RFK Jr responds to sex assault allegation". BBC News. Retrieved July 2, 2024.

Other websites

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