How Robert F. Kennedy Jr. went from outsider to Cabinet pick

He had written much than 20 books, drew steadfast audiences speaking crossed America and attracted sum from the country’s apical newspapers and magazines. Still, by the tallness of the pandemic, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said helium felt muzzled.

Facebook and Instagram had banned posts by Children’s Health Defense, the Kennedy-founded enactment that questions the worth of vaccines. The societal media sites noted that Kennedy’s radical trafficked successful aesculapian misinformation, and a subject probe squad labeled him a “superspreader” of bogus claims astir COVID-19 vaccines.

But arsenic 2024 loomed, the scion of America’s astir celebrated Democratic household saw a mode backmost into the nationalist eye.

“I started thinking, ‘Well, the 1 spot that they couldn’t censor maine was if I was moving for president,’ ” Kennedy told the New Yorker. As helium prepared to denote his candidacy successful 2023, helium proclaimed, “The censors are permitting maine to speech to Americans again!”

Indeed, a 16-month tally for the White House and consequent 2 months arsenic a protagonist of Republican nominee Donald Trump succeeded successful keeping RFK Jr. adjacent to the halfway of the public’s consciousness. It’s a salient perch he’s apt to support if helium succeeds successful being confirmed arsenic caput of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Loyola Marymount University governmental idiosyncratic Michael A. Genovese said Trump’s designation of Kennedy for the Cabinet station demonstrates “the powerfulness of communal opportunism.”

“RFK revives his failing career. Trump is linked to the glamour of the Kennedy name,” said Genovese, ticking disconnected factors that whitethorn person informed Trump’s decision. “RFK gains immoderate measurement of respectability. Trump puts Kennedy successful a Cabinet presumption helium cares small about. RFK finds a mode to enactment successful the glow of the spotlight. Trump gets an anti-science workfellow to complement Trump’s anti-science sentiments.”

Kennedy’s halting ramble from Democratic Party fringe subordinate to fervent MAGA state did not daze anyone who has watched him intimately successful caller years. They callback however Kennedy visited Trump Tower soon earlier Inauguration Day successful 2017 and proclaimed that Trump would marque him seat of a committee connected vaccine information and technological integrity. The Trump medication presumption ne'er materialized.

Campaigning for the White House this year, Kennedy criticized some large parties, though helium saved his astir spirited beat-downs for the Democrats. Part of the crushed surely was that Democratic nominee Kamala Harris had spurned his overtures. It yet became wide that Trump — arsenic helium had truthful galore times earlier — was much than consenting to onslaught a strategical confederation with a erstwhile adversary.

Kennedy, 70, came with a checkered idiosyncratic history. Controversial — adjacent bizarre — revelations dotted his statesmanlike run. But respective Trump appointees came with unsettling idiosyncratic histories.

Kennedy, who declined to beryllium interviewed for this article, has persevered implicit the people of a beingness often turned upside down by tragedy. He was 14 erstwhile his begetter and namesake was assassinated successful 1968 astatine the Ambassador Hotel successful Los Angeles. Not agelong after, helium became addicted to heroin, a wont helium did not footwear until helium was 29. Despite that, helium graduated from Harvard and the University of Virginia instrumentality school.

His 2 strongest calling cards arsenic a campaigner appeared to beryllium his household sanction and his vocation arsenic an lawyer who fought to cleanable up the environment. But some became overshadowed by his aboriginal preoccupations.

Kennedy dispersed the myths — refuted by subject — that vaccines commonly injure children and origin autism. He outraged galore successful 2022 by comparing vaccine mandates to the totalitarianism of Nazi Germany.

When helium announced past autumn that helium would proceed his statesmanlike tally arsenic an autarkic alternatively than arsenic a Democrat, galore successful his household did not hesitate to heap connected their disdain.

“Bobby mightiness stock the aforesaid sanction arsenic our father, but helium does not stock the aforesaid values, imaginativeness oregon judgment,” 3 of the candidate’s sisters and 1 member said successful a associated statement. “We denounce his candidacy and judge it to beryllium perilous for our country.”

This spring, astir 50 of his erstwhile colleagues and leaders of the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund pilloried Kennedy.

“In thing much than a vanity candidacy, RFK Jr. has chosen to play the relation of predetermination spoiler to the payment of Donald Trump — the azygous worst biology president our state has ever had,” the biology leaders wrote successful a broadside published successful respective newspapers.

Not dissimilar the antheral who would aboriginal connection him a Cabinet position, the campaigner seemed impervious to criticism, positioning himself arsenic idiosyncratic who was delivering inconvenient truths to an unyielding establishment.

The campaigner liked to punctuation his celebrated relatives, suggesting helium was surviving by his father’s words: “Moral courageousness is simply a rarer commodity than bravery successful conflict oregon large intelligence. Yet it is the 1 essential, captious prime for those who question to alteration a satellite that yields astir painfully to change.”

Not agelong aft the NRDC disowned him, Kennedy suffered different embarrassment. The New York Times reported connected a 2012 deposition successful which helium described his concerns that helium mightiness person a encephalon tumor. A doctor, Kennedy said, had told him that his abnormal encephalon scans were apt “caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a information of it and past died.”

The revelation made him the butt of a slew of jokes connected late-night TV, conscionable arsenic helium was trying to guarantee voters of the seriousness of his candidacy.

Kennedy besides took incoming occurrence from the right. “Kennedy is simply a Radical Left Democrat, and ever volition be!!!” Trump posted successful April connected his Truth Social platform. “It’s large for MAGA, but the Communists volition marque it precise hard for him to get connected the Ballot.”

Kennedy accused Trump of “a hardly coherent barrage of chaotic and inaccurate claims.”

Into the summer, Kennedy continued to importune that the American radical would yet crook to him and distant from the large enactment candidates. But portion helium wanted to speech astir the evil of firm and authorities elites, his past kept resurfacing successful the media.

In July, Vanity Fair reported that a pistillate accused Kennedy of groping her decades earlier erstwhile she was the 23-year-old nanny of his children. Kennedy was joined astatine the time.

After the communicative broke, the campaigner texted an apology to the woman, portion contending that helium remembered thing of the episode.

Not agelong aft that, a video surfaced that raised questions astir Kennedy’s semipermanent committedness to the race. In the recording, posted by his lad connected societal media, the campaigner is speaking by telephone with Trump, who hints that helium wants Kennedy to leap to his side.

“I would emotion you to bash something,” Trump said, without offering further context. “And I deliberation it’ll beryllium truthful bully for you and truthful large for you. And we’re going to win.” Kennedy’s response: “Yeah.”

Yet successful nationalist Kennedy insisted helium offered a 3rd way, unattached to the 2 large parties.

Then successful August came a bid of events that acceptable the signifier for Kennedy’s aboriginal emergence arsenic a Cabinet pick. He weathered yet much embarrassing revelations, but besides threw his backing down Trump.

A communicative successful the New Yorker recounted an unusual prank that Kennedy had pulled respective years prior.

After uncovering a dormant carnivore cub connected a upland roadside, according to his account, helium loaded the carcass into his car and drove into New York City. Kennedy past deposited the assemblage successful Central Park, alongside a bicycle. The New Yorker reported: “A idiosyncratic with cognition of the lawsuit said that Kennedy thought it would beryllium comic to marque it look arsenic if the carnal had been killed by an errant cyclist.”

Most of the attraction from the communicative surrounded the dormant bear, but it besides revealed substance messages successful which Kennedy called Trump a “terrible quality being” and “probably a sociopath.” But Kennedy judged that President Biden was “more unsafe to the Republic and the planet.”

Despite Kennedy’s assurances helium was moving to win, his run manager hinted successful the illustration that helium mightiness beryllium consenting to instrumentality a lesser role. She called the anticipation of Kennedy arsenic Trump’s caput of Health and Human Services “incredibly interesting.”

Kennedy had reached retired to Harris, too, CNN reported, expressing involvement successful a relation successful her administration. He was rebuffed.

“No 1 has immoderate volition of negotiating with a MAGA-funded fringe campaigner who has sought retired a occupation with Donald Trump successful speech for an endorsement,” Democratic National Committee spokesperson Matt Corridoni told the cablegram web connected Aug. 14.

It became evident alteration was afoot six days aboriginal erstwhile Trump began to publically flatter Kennedy, portion the Democratic National Convention was successful afloat plaything and buoyed by Harris’ energetic candidacy.

“I similar him a lot, I respect him a lot,” Trump told CNN. At a run lawsuit successful Arizona, Trump called Kennedy “very smart.”

On Aug. 23, the time aft the Democratic normal ended, the Kennedy heir endorsed the Republican, saying that, together, they were going to “Make America Healthy Again.” Trump’s handlers aboriginal rhapsodized astatine however a MAGA assemblage successful Glendale, Ariz., greeted Kennedy “like a stone star.”

The run knew it had a occupation with immoderate young pistillate voters, peculiarly due to the fact that Trump’s Supreme Court picks had eliminated national extortion of termination entree by overturning of Roe vs. Wade. But immoderate of those aforesaid women were won implicit by Kennedy’s calls for improving healthcare and removing nutrient additives that could harm children, said a elder run authoritative who declined to beryllium named. “A batch of that radical of young moms loved what Bobby was saying,” said the advisor. “He moved that radical for us.”

It’s intolerable to cognize however galore voters were moved by specified feelings. Or however galore were turned disconnected by the continuing drumbeat of Kennedy oddities.

Just 3 days aft Trump and Kennedy took the signifier unneurotic for the archetypal time, Kennedy faced different embarrassing headline. An aged mag nonfiction surfaced successful which 1 of Kennedy’s daughters remembered her father’s unusual brushwood with a dormant whale connected Cape Cod.

Town & Country mag reported that, galore years earlier, Kennedy “ran down to the formation with a chainsaw, cut disconnected the whale’s head, and past bungee-corded it to the extortion of the household minivan for the five-hour haul backmost to Mount Kisco, New York.”

Again, late-night comics had fodder for Kennedy jokes. But, again, Kennedy weathered the tempest and went connected to run vigorously for his caller ally.

Kennedy’s way to confirmation is uncertain. Although the incoming GOP bulk successful the Senate should wide the way, adjacent immoderate Republicans person said the erstwhile Democrat volition person to reply questions astir his vaccine stances and his tendency to alteration however processed foods are made.

Kennedy proclaimed connected X his readiness “to escaped the agencies from the smothering unreality of firm seizure truthful they tin prosecute their ngo to marque Americans erstwhile again the healthiest radical connected Earth.”

Though good abbreviated of the spot successful the Oval Office erstwhile held by his uncle and coveted by his father, the Cabinet station would enactment Kennedy the closest helium has ever been to the bosom of a national authorities that helium antecedently pilloried lone from the outside.