Robert F Kennedy Jr, running for US president as a Democrat, has faced scrutiny over his history of amplifying conspiracy theories and unusual backing from right-wingers. Over the weekend, he doubled down on remarks suggesting Covid-19 may have been 'ethnically targeted' to attack Caucasians and black people but spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.
Kennedy argued he had 'never implied that the ethnic effect was deliberately engineered', citing a study from the National Institutes of Health. However, an author of that study told CBS News that its findings 'never supported' his claims, calling the misinterpretation harmful to academic research.
Despite holding few campaign events, Kennedy has polled in the mid-to-high teens, attributed partly to disaffection with President Joe Biden and nostalgia for the Kennedy name. Democratic strategist Kevin Walling said support is peeling away as voters learn more about his views.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called Kennedy's comments 'vile', and other Democrats described them as antisemitic and anti-Asian. His sister Kerry wrote, 'I strongly condemn my brother's deplorable and untruthful remarks.'
Kennedy has appeared at events pushing false claims about the 2020 election and downplaying the January 2021 Capitol attack. Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon encouraged his run, and Donald Trump has praised him. Nearly 40% of Kennedy's donors typically give to Republican candidates, according to FEC filings.
