Independent third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has come out swinging, accusing the Democratic National Committee (DNC) of manipulating the election process to favor Vice President Kamala Harris now that President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the race.
Breitbart News reported on Sunday that Joe Biden made a historic decision to step down, a move not seen since Lyndon B. Johnson’s withdrawal in 1968. “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden’s statement read. “While I intended to seek re-election, I believe stepping down is in the best interest of my party and the country.”
Following Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor, the Democratic establishment quickly rallied around Harris. However, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized this move, arguing that it deprives voters of their right to choose their nominee through a primary election.
“I respect President Biden for stepping down. His health issues were clear to any impartial observer from the start. It was his ongoing decline and departure from Democratic values that prompted my candidacy to offer a robust alternative to Donald Trump,” Kennedy stated on X.
Kennedy went further, alleging, “The DNC’s reaction was to conceal Biden’s decline and disrupt the democratic process to ensure his nomination. Now, there’s a fear among Americans that these same DNC elites will manipulate the process again to promote an extremely unpopular vice president as his replacement.”
He called on the Democratic Party to honor its commitment to democracy by allowing an open and fair process. “Rather than crowning a candidate selected by DNC insiders, the party should use unbiased polling to find the strongest contender against Donald Trump. Delegates should choose the nominee based on these findings. If the party had done this initially, I wouldn’t have felt the need to leave the Democratic Party,” Kennedy added.
Kennedy also reminded that when he announced his presidential run, the Democrats avoided any debates, allowing Biden to glide through the primary unopposed. Now, with his pointed accusations, Kennedy adds another layer of drama to an already contentious election cycle.