Thank you so much for this truly brilliant piece, Steve. I am old enough (86) to remember both Kennedy "boys," and Iremember well the days we lost each of them - days of shock and sorrow beyond belief. I was working at UCSF at the time of John Kennedy's assassination and one of the interns we knew was by then at the hospital in Dallas where they took John F. Kennedy. He called us to let us know Kennedy was dead and he was in tears at the time. And when I heard the news about Bobby, someone saying "Somebody shot Kennedy," for a few seconds I thought I had gone back in time to 1962 - and then it was "not him, too!" Both of those days have been with me since and will be with me forever. RFK, Jr. is a sick man and should be put somewhere he can be cared for accordingly - along with tRUMP. Apparently nobody cares enough about either of them to show them that kindness.
For those of us old enough to remember our love and support of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy and the unbearable sorrow we felt when they were assassinated, there can be no better way to dishonor the memory of both great men, than to endorse a monster who has destroyed this nation and defiled its citizens. Thank you Steve for this fitting castigation of RFK,Jr. and reposting your eloquent tributes to his uncle and father.
If it is a good thing for the Harris campaign, then that is a good thing. Over the months I’ve spoken to people about RFK, Jr. My impression was that if he was going to draw votes away, it would not be from Democrats. So, I suspect this endorsement changes nothing.
It was many years ago, but the Hudson River was a wasteland of sewage and grief. RFK, Jr. marshaled resources and lawyers and did what no else did: made a difference in bringing back that great river. I’d rather have that stand by his name.
Thank you for giving positive action by RFK. He has some crazy ideas, but at least there is some part of his father in him. I just don't see his father being a Trump supporter.
Yet he seems to have abandoned all the good including affordable home energy options for low income people, an issue on which I worked. He has signed on to drill baby drill which is not positive for the environment. Whatever caused RFK Jr to abandon his family’s good actions and values seems unknown and sad.
PBSNewsHour Fri showed his support declining before he endorsed trump. The 7% July approval may the anti-vax folks or those who didn’t want Biden or trump OR those of us old enough to believe a Kennedy like his dad, uncles & sister could only do good unless they read more.
I’m sad he has become what he is and clearly so desires belonging he’s latched on to MAGA. And I fear exploitation of his name to make it sound like Kennedy family align with trump.
I had the thrill of seeing RFK Sr. in person on April 15, 1968 in South Bend, IN. I was a junior in high school and they let school out for us to see him (or maybe I skipped, I'm not clear on that). Later I got to shake his hand at the Democratic Club where he stopped for some Polish sausage - it was Dyngus Day, a big deal in South Bend. Less than 6 weeks later he was assassinated. His son may look like him, but he has none of his sense. Perhaps the brain worm did more damage than he knows. None of the Kennedy's who came before him, nor those alive today, would condone his affiliation with Trump. If his father were alive today he would probably be prosecuting Trump, as he did many of his ilk when he was Attorney General.
RFK Jr. has a very obvious strong strain of ambition, but that is pretty standard stuff in politicians, local and federal. The former Republican Party, now devolved into and devoured by the fascist MAGAs, reveals individual ambition second to no other agenda. RFK, Jr., sitting in calculated limbo with his wetted finger in the air, has even hunted at himself as, by chaos attrition, securing the throne. But now, throwing the baby out with the bathwater, he has sided with Trump. Such is the blinding light of purely selfish ambition.
For the record and for what it’s worth I was alive when Robert F. Kennedy gave his most famous of speeches in Indianapolis. Not only was I alive I was in attendance at the speech. Thank you for your Substack today.
“Question: are there any comparable brain worms or dead bears close to the Harris-Walz campaign?
Answer: no.
Why is this?
Because it’s the Trump campaign that is the weirdo fest. Truly.”
Truly a weirdo fest, Steve?
I think we’ve passed the point of weirdness or any semblance of sanity. These two are perennial grifters and cheap snake oil salesmen. Both trying to stay relevant in an endless swamp of pond scum.
We thought JFK Jr.’s “brain” worm was the parasite, but in truth, we have two brain dead, parasitic, narcissistic sociopaths, whose campaign slogan should be: Trump and JFK Jr.; the campaign with Heart-worms….:)
I was in 6th grade in November of 1963, and 16 when MLK and then Bobby Kennedy was assassinated the same year (1968). It was a really sad time in American history. In retrospect though, these last 10 years of Trumpism and MAGA has been worse. Maybe it is because of my age, but these Trump years have taken a toll on me. To be a Kennedy and support this fascist is really disturbing. I can only imagine how the Kennedys feel about RFK Jr’s decision to abandon democracy for a little power.
On another note … just think about the possibilities for a T-rump cabinet … consisting of RFK Jr, Steve Bannon, Steve Miller, Mike Flynn, Roger Stone, and multiple others who are just as awful. We have to stay united and support our blue candidates who believe in freedom and the constitution or the damage to our country could be lethal.
I was in 7th grade when JFK was assassinated, and 18 when Bobby Kennedy was killed. It was shocking and inconceivable then, but you are right. The years of gun violence, Trumpism, his total mishandling (except for the funding and rushing out of vaccines) of the pandemic, and mass lunacy coked up on online conspiracies surpasses the shock and inconceivablity level of those years. Bobby Kennedy's compassion for the poor and disenfranchised was palpable. He would have promoted progressive policies for the better. How his son could abandon all principle is literally disgusting. I immediately sent my family members (the anti vax contigent) who were planning on voting on RFK,jr. text messages and article links....not that they will answer me....these Trumpistyears have been an awful strain. All my youthful progressive leftist heroes were either murdered, exiled, jailed, or silenced, and not until this convention, even after Biden literally saved the day taking office during the pandemic, have I felt there was real hope for the future of the Democratic party to stop their pandering to the right and stand up for socio-economic justice. Trump keeps saying "you won't have a country" if Dems win. No one wants to live in his Project 2025 wasteland!!
Trump accepting RFK into the Repugnican fold is laughable. This is the guy who shopped around first with the Harris Team and now has found a partial home in Trump’s orbit, in the hope that Trump might appoint him to an official role in his government. Even if Trump ekes out a win, he would never get approval from the Senate to name RFK to any position, not even dog catcher of the White House.
If Trump wins he won't need Congress of the Senate to approve. He will be autonomous. That is why we have to make sure the Dems are getting elected up and down the ballots, so we can wipe the stain of MAGA out of government.
RFK Jr. Endorsement of Trump is the bleach injected into his COVID campaign. Donald is desperate and like all desperate people who think they are the smartest people and don't know how to take advice, they inject bleach into their bodies to kill a virus. Yes Donald you only hire the best people and the rest of the world thanks you for supporting the intellectually challenged from worm infestation of the brain.
I haven't looked at RFK Jr's numbers, but my concern is that in the swing states where the election will actually be decided and the votes will be separated by as little as a few thousand votes, margins of less than 1% can be significant. When there are 2 other candidates already pulling some votes away from Harris (granted few, but again with small margins...) in Jill Stein and Cornell West, this just makes the margins even smaller. It likely won't have any impact on any solid blue or red states. Plus, he stated he's only removing himself from the ballot in 10 or fewer states. What the hell is that about?
IOW, I just don't want to dismiss this as "nothing to see here", but rather increase our determination (VOTE and everything related to support it) and vigilance where it matters most in those 5 or 6 swing states.
As my counselor used to tell me: "Water seeks it's own level". Sick attracts sick. So no surprise about RKJr. endorsing Trump. They're both nuts. We just have to do the work to stop them.
Thanks for the re-posts of your brilliant posts on Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy and John F. Kennedy. Superb and very inspiring as I missed them the first time. Hope you have a good weekend Steve!! ❤️🥰
I’m 64, an in between age with respect to the Kennedys. I do not remember JFK, though there is photographic evidence that I saw him at the Louisville airport sometime between my birth in July and the 1960 election. But I do remember the morning in 1968 that the school bus driver had the radio on, something she never did, tuned to news reports of RFKs assassination. It was an unimaginable event in a year of unimaginable events. The alternate history that might have been.
Thank you so much for this truly brilliant piece, Steve. I am old enough (86) to remember both Kennedy "boys," and Iremember well the days we lost each of them - days of shock and sorrow beyond belief. I was working at UCSF at the time of John Kennedy's assassination and one of the interns we knew was by then at the hospital in Dallas where they took John F. Kennedy. He called us to let us know Kennedy was dead and he was in tears at the time. And when I heard the news about Bobby, someone saying "Somebody shot Kennedy," for a few seconds I thought I had gone back in time to 1962 - and then it was "not him, too!" Both of those days have been with me since and will be with me forever. RFK, Jr. is a sick man and should be put somewhere he can be cared for accordingly - along with tRUMP. Apparently nobody cares enough about either of them to show them that kindness.
For those of us old enough to remember our love and support of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy and the unbearable sorrow we felt when they were assassinated, there can be no better way to dishonor the memory of both great men, than to endorse a monster who has destroyed this nation and defiled its citizens. Thank you Steve for this fitting castigation of RFK,Jr. and reposting your eloquent tributes to his uncle and father.
But it's RFK, Jr.
Thanks Michelle. Fixed it.
If it is a good thing for the Harris campaign, then that is a good thing. Over the months I’ve spoken to people about RFK, Jr. My impression was that if he was going to draw votes away, it would not be from Democrats. So, I suspect this endorsement changes nothing.
It was many years ago, but the Hudson River was a wasteland of sewage and grief. RFK, Jr. marshaled resources and lawyers and did what no else did: made a difference in bringing back that great river. I’d rather have that stand by his name.
Thank you for giving positive action by RFK. He has some crazy ideas, but at least there is some part of his father in him. I just don't see his father being a Trump supporter.
Yet he seems to have abandoned all the good including affordable home energy options for low income people, an issue on which I worked. He has signed on to drill baby drill which is not positive for the environment. Whatever caused RFK Jr to abandon his family’s good actions and values seems unknown and sad.
PBSNewsHour Fri showed his support declining before he endorsed trump. The 7% July approval may the anti-vax folks or those who didn’t want Biden or trump OR those of us old enough to believe a Kennedy like his dad, uncles & sister could only do good unless they read more.
I’m sad he has become what he is and clearly so desires belonging he’s latched on to MAGA. And I fear exploitation of his name to make it sound like Kennedy family align with trump.
I’m going only from my memory, as I don’t feel like revisiting the man, but I do recall some good environmental work.
I had the thrill of seeing RFK Sr. in person on April 15, 1968 in South Bend, IN. I was a junior in high school and they let school out for us to see him (or maybe I skipped, I'm not clear on that). Later I got to shake his hand at the Democratic Club where he stopped for some Polish sausage - it was Dyngus Day, a big deal in South Bend. Less than 6 weeks later he was assassinated. His son may look like him, but he has none of his sense. Perhaps the brain worm did more damage than he knows. None of the Kennedy's who came before him, nor those alive today, would condone his affiliation with Trump. If his father were alive today he would probably be prosecuting Trump, as he did many of his ilk when he was Attorney General.
I too saw Bobby in Los Angeles, at Northridge State. The power he cast over the throngs was electric. Days later he was dead. How unbelievably sad.
RFK Jr. has a very obvious strong strain of ambition, but that is pretty standard stuff in politicians, local and federal. The former Republican Party, now devolved into and devoured by the fascist MAGAs, reveals individual ambition second to no other agenda. RFK, Jr., sitting in calculated limbo with his wetted finger in the air, has even hunted at himself as, by chaos attrition, securing the throne. But now, throwing the baby out with the bathwater, he has sided with Trump. Such is the blinding light of purely selfish ambition.
The new polio czar.
For the record and for what it’s worth I was alive when Robert F. Kennedy gave his most famous of speeches in Indianapolis. Not only was I alive I was in attendance at the speech. Thank you for your Substack today.
Wow. Would have been extraordinary to experience that.
Did you know you were witnessing something extraordinary, or did that come much later?
“Question: are there any comparable brain worms or dead bears close to the Harris-Walz campaign?
Answer: no.
Why is this?
Because it’s the Trump campaign that is the weirdo fest. Truly.”
Truly a weirdo fest, Steve?
I think we’ve passed the point of weirdness or any semblance of sanity. These two are perennial grifters and cheap snake oil salesmen. Both trying to stay relevant in an endless swamp of pond scum.
We thought JFK Jr.’s “brain” worm was the parasite, but in truth, we have two brain dead, parasitic, narcissistic sociopaths, whose campaign slogan should be: Trump and JFK Jr.; the campaign with Heart-worms….:)
Well said, Robert.
I was in 6th grade in November of 1963, and 16 when MLK and then Bobby Kennedy was assassinated the same year (1968). It was a really sad time in American history. In retrospect though, these last 10 years of Trumpism and MAGA has been worse. Maybe it is because of my age, but these Trump years have taken a toll on me. To be a Kennedy and support this fascist is really disturbing. I can only imagine how the Kennedys feel about RFK Jr’s decision to abandon democracy for a little power.
On another note … just think about the possibilities for a T-rump cabinet … consisting of RFK Jr, Steve Bannon, Steve Miller, Mike Flynn, Roger Stone, and multiple others who are just as awful. We have to stay united and support our blue candidates who believe in freedom and the constitution or the damage to our country could be lethal.
I was in 7th grade when JFK was assassinated, and 18 when Bobby Kennedy was killed. It was shocking and inconceivable then, but you are right. The years of gun violence, Trumpism, his total mishandling (except for the funding and rushing out of vaccines) of the pandemic, and mass lunacy coked up on online conspiracies surpasses the shock and inconceivablity level of those years. Bobby Kennedy's compassion for the poor and disenfranchised was palpable. He would have promoted progressive policies for the better. How his son could abandon all principle is literally disgusting. I immediately sent my family members (the anti vax contigent) who were planning on voting on RFK,jr. text messages and article links....not that they will answer me....these Trumpistyears have been an awful strain. All my youthful progressive leftist heroes were either murdered, exiled, jailed, or silenced, and not until this convention, even after Biden literally saved the day taking office during the pandemic, have I felt there was real hope for the future of the Democratic party to stop their pandering to the right and stand up for socio-economic justice. Trump keeps saying "you won't have a country" if Dems win. No one wants to live in his Project 2025 wasteland!!
Trump accepting RFK into the Repugnican fold is laughable. This is the guy who shopped around first with the Harris Team and now has found a partial home in Trump’s orbit, in the hope that Trump might appoint him to an official role in his government. Even if Trump ekes out a win, he would never get approval from the Senate to name RFK to any position, not even dog catcher of the White House.
If Trump wins he won't need Congress of the Senate to approve. He will be autonomous. That is why we have to make sure the Dems are getting elected up and down the ballots, so we can wipe the stain of MAGA out of government.
Yes, indeed the Dems need to win up and down the ballots.
RFK Jr. Endorsement of Trump is the bleach injected into his COVID campaign. Donald is desperate and like all desperate people who think they are the smartest people and don't know how to take advice, they inject bleach into their bodies to kill a virus. Yes Donald you only hire the best people and the rest of the world thanks you for supporting the intellectually challenged from worm infestation of the brain.
I haven't looked at RFK Jr's numbers, but my concern is that in the swing states where the election will actually be decided and the votes will be separated by as little as a few thousand votes, margins of less than 1% can be significant. When there are 2 other candidates already pulling some votes away from Harris (granted few, but again with small margins...) in Jill Stein and Cornell West, this just makes the margins even smaller. It likely won't have any impact on any solid blue or red states. Plus, he stated he's only removing himself from the ballot in 10 or fewer states. What the hell is that about?
IOW, I just don't want to dismiss this as "nothing to see here", but rather increase our determination (VOTE and everything related to support it) and vigilance where it matters most in those 5 or 6 swing states.
The video contained here on MLK and RFK is excellent. April 24.
As my counselor used to tell me: "Water seeks it's own level". Sick attracts sick. So no surprise about RKJr. endorsing Trump. They're both nuts. We just have to do the work to stop them.
Thanks for the re-posts of your brilliant posts on Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy and John F. Kennedy. Superb and very inspiring as I missed them the first time. Hope you have a good weekend Steve!! ❤️🥰
I’m 64, an in between age with respect to the Kennedys. I do not remember JFK, though there is photographic evidence that I saw him at the Louisville airport sometime between my birth in July and the 1960 election. But I do remember the morning in 1968 that the school bus driver had the radio on, something she never did, tuned to news reports of RFKs assassination. It was an unimaginable event in a year of unimaginable events. The alternate history that might have been.
Kennedy endorsing Trump is a nothing burger.