LOL, GOPers who spent the last few months transparently hyping RFK Jr as a spoiler against Biden suddenly figuring out his schtick appeals more to their base than the Dems https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/09/republican-leaders-attack-robert-kennedy-jr-independent-campaign-announcement/
Republicans turn on Robert Kennedy Jr. as he launches independent bid

Republicans are turning on RFK Jr. as he announces an independent presidential bid, underscoring nervousness on both sides on how the gadfly and other potential third-party candidates might scramble the races

The Washington Post
Though TBH I have a hard time seeing his relatively high favorability with GOPers translating into many votes from people who would otherwise have gone to Trump, even if it survives Fox pivoting against him. Sure, they might think he's an OK guy (unlike other Dems, who are baby-eating communists), but they're still gonna like their guy better
Also, LOL at RFK Jr, Harvard educated scion of the most recognized political dynasty in the nation, ranting about how voters are "belittled by a smug elite that has rigged the game in its favor"
For anyone in need of a concrete example of how #RFKJr is an absolute piece of shit, AP got you covered: Kid dies due to undetected medical condition. RFK Jr affiliated group *puts kid's picture on the cover of their antivax book*, and claims he died of the covid vax (which he never had), without even contacting the family https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-election-vaccines-2ccde2df146f57b5e8c26e8494f0a16a
RFK Jr. spent years stoking fear of vaccines. These people were hurt

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent years disseminating false information about vaccines in a time when spreading conspiracy theories has become a powerful way to grow a constituency. The AP examined the impact of his work. A couple grieving their 12-year-old son described how a book co-published by Kennedy’s group misrepresented his death. One mom delayed care for her autistic son because she believed Kennedy’s vaccine falsehoods. An ex-lawmaker described being harassed by Kennedy’s followers. Medical workers recounted how his work has hurt people in the U.S. and abroad. Kennedy’s campaign didn’t respond to requests for comment.

AP News

Cool, cool #RFKJr 'said he would use the power of [the attorney general] to threaten editors of medical journals and force them to publish studies that had been retracted (an example he often cites is the retracted studies saying ivermectin, a parasite drug, was an effective treatment for Covid). “We’re gonna say we’re fixing to file some racketeering lawsuits if you don’t start telling the truth in your journals.”'

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/rfk-jr-comes-home-anti-vaccine-group-commits-break-us-infectious-disea-rcna123551

RFK Jr. comes ‘home’ to his anti-vaccine group, commits to ‘a break’ for U.S. infectious disease research

At an anti-vaccine conference in Georgia on Friday, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed his commitment to the cause and spoke to his base about how he, as president, would serve the movement he built.

NBC News
In interviews with mainstream outlets #RFKJr likes to claim he isn't antivax, just "pro vaccine safety" or some similar BS. Meanwhile, his organization posts insane crap like this
Anyway, totally weird those "toxins" just disappeared at exactly the time the Polio vaccine was rolled out
(https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/reported-paralytic-polio-cases-and-deaths-in-the-united-states-since-1910)
Reported polio cases and deaths

The reported figures include both wild- and vaccine-derived poliovirus infections that occurred indigenously and as imported cases.

Our World in Data
Periodic reminder that #RFKJr is a piece of shit: 'Kennedy wrote a blog post for the CHD site that called [antivax activist] Tamasese a “medical freedom hero.” He referred to the 2019 blast of measles [which killed 83] in Samoa as merely a “mild measles outbreak” and praised Tamasese for having “infuriated the Global Medical Cartel”' https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/07/how-rfk-jr-falsely-denied-his-connection-to-a-deadly-measles-outbreak-in-samoa/
How RFK Jr. falsely denied his connection to a deadly measles outbreak in Samoa

He also championed a Samoan anti-vaxxer tied to the 2019 lethal eruption that killed scores of children.

Mother Jones

I for one am *shocked* to learn that #RFKJr
1) Had a friendly chat with Trump
2) In that chat espouses the same deranged, long debunked anti-vax BS he disavows when talking to mainstream news reporters

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-courts-rfk-jrs-support-leaked-phone-call-2024-07-16/

Also *shocked* to learn that multimillionaire Timothy Mellon is both one of #RFKJr's biggest donors and also one of Trump's biggest donors

https://wapo.st/3LpbBG6

#GiftArticle #GiftLink

Trump’s biggest donor is a Gilded Age heir also backing RFK Jr.

Timothy Mellon, scion of the Pittsburgh banking family, has put $75 million behind Trump while also spending on Kennedy and his heterodox causes.

The Washington Post

My shocked face 😐 #RFKJr "… held talks this month with former president Donald Trump about endorsing his campaign and taking a job in a second Trump administration, overseeing a portfolio of health and medical issues, according to four people familiar with the matter"
https://wapo.st/3LAq1TR

#GiftArticle #GiftLink

RFK Jr. floated a job in a Trump White House as he weighed endorsing Trump

The independent candidate suggested being given a senior job overseeing a portfolio of health and medical issues, an idea that the Trump campaign rejected.

The Washington Post

#RFKJr, being an equal opportunity grifter, also reportedly offered to drop out an endorse Harris in return for cabinet position

Unsurprisingly, "Harris and her advisers have not responded with an offer to meet or shown interest in the proposal"

https://wapo.st/3WMqfMX
#GiftArticle #GiftLink

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tried to meet with Kamala Harris to discuss Cabinet job

Harris has rebuffed the outreach, while Kennedy also has had conversations with Republican nominee Donald Trump about a role in his administration.

The Washington Post
@reedmideke
He should offer to support Trump who, if elected, would offer him a job as his personal psychiatrist. That would work.