Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said. that he would resist attacking both President Biden and former President Trump personally during his campaign.
During a live town hall at NewsNation headquarters in Chicago on Wednesday, moderator Elizabeth Vargas asked Kennedy, “What kind of person do you think Donald Trump is?”
“Here’s what I’m not going to do in this race. I’m not going to personally attack other people. I don’t think it’s going to be good for our country. And what I’m trying to do in this race is bring people together, try to bridge to divide the American people,” said Kennedy, who is challenging Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2024.
“I’m proud that President Trump likes me even though I don’t agree with him on most of his issues,” Kennedy added. “Because I don’t want to alienate people. I want to bring people together. I’m proud that all these people like me and I have independent supporters and Democratic supporters, and that I can – you know, every Saying of the Democrat ‘I want to end the polarization.’ But how do you do that without talking to people who disagree with you? How do you do that without appealing to people? My goal is to find the issues, the values that we share.”
TRUMP PRAISES RFK JR AS A ‘COMMON SENSE GUY,’ AS GOP REPORTS KENNEDY’S THREAT AGAINST BIDEN IS STRATEGIC
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visits “The Faulkner Focus” at the Fox News Channel Studios on June 2, 2023, in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
In a brief appearance on “The Howie Carr Show” on Monday, Trump himself gave a somewhat positive nod to Kennedy.
“Just wait,” Trump Kennedy advises. “He’s been very nice to me, I’ve actually had a very nice relationship with him over the years. He’s a very smart guy, and a good guy.”
“He’s a common sense guy and so am I. So, whether you’re conservative or liberal, common sense is common sense,” Trump said of his potential rival.
With the Democratic establishment dismissing Kennedy as a conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxer, some are looking at recent praise for President John F. Kennedy’s nephew and son of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy coming from Trump and other Republicans as a GOP strategy to swing. support from Biden.
Others speculated whether Kennedy would run as an independent, effectively draining votes from Biden and boosting Trump’s chances at the White House.
“I’ve never been anti-vaccine. And I’ve said that hundreds and hundreds of times, but it doesn’t matter because that is a way of silencing me. using that pejorative to describe me is a way of silencing or marginalizing to me,” Kennedy said at the town hall Monday.
Then-Vice President Joe Biden speaks on stage at the RFK Human Rights Ripple of Hope Awards in New York City. Now challenged by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Biden for the Democratic nomination in 2024. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for RFK Ripple of Hope)
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Vargas also pressed Kennedy, a lifelong Democrat, on whether he would pledge to support whoever is the Democratic presidential nominee in 2024, including if it is current President Biden.
“Of course I wouldn’t do that,” Kennedy said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. Let’s see what happens in this campaign. Let’s see if people live by democratic values and have debates and have discussions, and you know, talk to each other but …”
“Well, if that’s not happening, are you going to support a Republican or run as an independent?” Vargas pressed.
To that, Kennedy said, “My plan is to win this election. And I don’t have a plan B.”
Former President Trump is seen at the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women’s Lilac Luncheon on June 27, 2023, in Concord, New Hampshire. Trump recently praised potential 2024 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for “common sense.” (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
“I’m for deescalating all of the poison and the hatred and the vitriol. Whoever it is. Whether it’s against President Trump or President Biden. You won’t hear me say anything bad about President Biden. I like President Biden. I’ve known him for 40 years, and this campaign is not, you know, about criticizing him. And I’ve tried not to do that,” Kennedy continued. “If there’s a policy I don’t agree with – like the war, like the censorship, the lockdowns, I’ll criticize those, but I won’t attack him as a person.”
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“And I’m not going to attack President Trump because that’s enough. We need to find a way to start talking to each other and start healing each other. And stop, you know, hating each other , ” added RFK Jr. “This polarization is more dangerous, and it’s been in this country since the Civil War. And we have to figure out, you know, ways to start talking to Americans that we don’t agree with.”
