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SALT LAKE CITY — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appealed to those who are tired of the current two-party system during a campaign rally in Salt Lake City on Thursday evening.
The longtime environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist launched a Democratic primary challenge against President Joe Biden earlier this year but announced in October that he would drop his Democratic campaign and run as an independent instead.
His appeals to voters to "declare independence" from the two majority parties have resonated with voters, many of whom supported either former President Donald Trump or Biden in 2020.
Kennedy began his speech Thursday describing San Francisco as the most beautiful city in the United States but said rising housing costs have increased homelessness and made living in the Bay Area unsustainable for most — ripping the "economic heart" out of the city.
"This epidemic of homelessness that is in California and now is building like a tsunami, and it's going to sweep across this country because the price of houses is going up," he said.
Laurie Anderson, of Bountiful, said she's already convinced to vote for Kennedy in the 2024 general election, after voting for Trump in 2020 and rapper Kanye West in 2016.
"I'm traditionally more conservative, but I don't think that the two-party paradigm is working right now," she said. "I think this is a good opportunity for change."
West Jordan resident Bryant Hansen was another of the several hundred gathered to hear from Kennedy, though he's still firmly supportive of Trump. Hansen said he could be swayed to support Kennedy because, like Trump, "he puts America first."
"Everybody wants to put money over into Ukraine, money overseas to anywhere but the United States; and (Kennedy) wants to put America first, and that's what I like," he said.
Kennedy himself addressed military aid to foreign allies, tying the aid sent by Congress to giant companies like BlackRock, arguing that the U.S. military-industrial complex will benefit from sending weapons to Ukraine.
The economic pain felt by many Americans is the result of the "corrupt merger" between corporate interests and government regulation, Kennedy argued, saying regulatory agencies will turn into "predatory organisms" against Americans if the trend isn't reversed.
"I know I'm in a unique position to be able to fix this because I spent 40 years suing these agencies; I've sued almost all of them," he said.
He took jabs at the Democratic Party for not hosting presidential debates between Biden and party challengers U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips and author Marianne Williamson.
Kennedy argued that the political establishment has a vested interest in maintaining high polarization among the electorate because it protects the wealthy and ruling class.
"When the king and queen look over their balustrades and see all their subjects (fighting each other) ... they can go back to the banquet hall, pop champagne corks," because nobody is coming to hold them accountable, he said.
Kennedy's crowd consisted of several curious voters who backed Trump in the previous election, but not all of them said they're ready to vote for the independent next year.
"I have a lot of supporters in that category," he told KSL.com when asked how he plans to appeal to voters who are used to voting for the Republican candidate every four years. "I'm drawing equally from (the) Republican and Democratic Party, I'm drawing more independents than any other candidate. I think when they look at my policies ... and my record and compare those to President Trump, I think I compare favorably."
"I try not to criticize personally President Trump or President Biden in order to just focus on the issues," he added. "I think when people see my position on the issues and my record, they'll choose me."
Although Kennedy is a member of one of the most famous Democratic families in politics — he is the son of the late U.S. Attorney General and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy — he faced an uphill climb to defeat the incumbent president in a Democratic primary given that his favorability has been higher among Republican voters.
Kennedy faces some backlash to his campaign from his own siblings, who called his decision to run against Biden "dangerous" and "perilous" to the nation in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, on the day he declared his independent candidacy.
"Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment," the statement said.
Kennedy appeared unbothered by the rebuke, telling reporters he has "a big family" and believes his support among family members is stronger than the dissenters.
"We can disagree with each other and still love each other and I just wish the same thing for everybody else in this country," Kennedy said.
Even if Kennedy can convince voters to join his movement, as an independent candidate he will need to clear hurdles in every state in order to qualify for the ballot — something the major party candidates don't have to contend with.
Thursday's rally doubled as a chance for his campaign to collect signatures from voters in order to qualify for the general election ballot in Utah. Volunteers passed dozens of clipboards around to hundreds of supporters lined up outside the venue and Kennedy mingled for nearly an hour following his speech to take selfies with everyone in attendance, encouraging them to ask their friends and neighbors to join the cause as well.
A recent poll from the Messenger and HarrisX found that in a four-way general election race, 13% of respondents would support Kennedy. That's below former President Donald Trump, 41%, and Biden, 33%, but ahead of Cornel West, who earned 2%.
Kennedy's stance on the COVID-19 vaccine — which he called "the deadliest vaccine ever made" — has earned him support from several athletes who have also been vocally skeptical of vaccines, including former Utah Jazzman John Stockton and New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
