Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has all the trappings of a legitimate third-party presidential candidate. He’s raised more than $70 million, he’s named a running mate, and his supporters are working to get him on the ballot in all 50 states.
But there’s one major aspect lacking from Kennedy’s presidential campaign — any rational reason as to why he should be president of the United States.
It’s not just that Kennedy has never held elected office and has none of the experience necessary to steward a nation of 330 million people. It’s not just that his campaign has stepped on a disproportionate number of rakes — most recently firing a staffer who said defeating President Joe Biden was her “No. 1 priority.”
In intellect and demeanor, he’s remarkably unqualified for the job he is seeking.
I’m not even talking about his devotion to tin foil-hatted conspiracy theories, including claims that vaccines cause autism, that Covid was “targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people,” that China is developing bioweapons “to attack people of certain racial types” or that 5G wireless technology is part of a government plot to “to harvest our data and control our behavior.”
It’s that in intellect and demeanor, he’s remarkably unqualified for the job he is seeking. It would be bad enough if Kennedy were running for the House or Senate, but there’s only so much harm he could do in Congress. But unfit presidents can do real and enduring damage.
What defines Kennedy’s views on practically every public policy issue is a childlike aversion to generally accepted truths. If the world zigs, then Kennedy must zag.
Is easy access to guns the reason why America has so much gun violence? No, says Kennedy, it’s antidepressants and video games. Because after all, America is the only country in the world with antidepressants and video games.
Have the Covid vaccines saved millions of lives — and are they incredibly safe? Sure, says every available piece of scientific evidence. But in Kennedy’s view, “it’s the deadliest vaccine ever made.”
What causes gender dysphoria? Well, he says, it must be chemicals in our drinking water. What about Wi-Fi? Oh, that causes cancer, Kennedy confidently states. What about HIV? Surely, it is the virus that causes AIDS — everyone agrees with that. Not Kennedy.
Take, for example, Kennedy’s recent statements about Jan. 6, which he called a “polarizing topic” and one he wants “to hear every side” of.
Most people who wanted to learn about Jan. 6 would consult the many books and articles written about that day’s events. They might also read the exhaustive report of the House select committee on the attack.
Not Kennedy. “I have not examined the evidence in detail,” he declared in a lengthy statement put out by his campaign, “but reasonable people, including Trump opponents, tell me there is little evidence of a true insurrection. They observe that the protestors carried no weapons, had no plans or ability to seize the reins of government, and that Trump himself had urged them to protest ‘peacefully.’”
Kennedy, it seems, is not interested in truth or facts. He is the poster child for ‘do your own research.’ Had Kennedy taken the time to examine the evidence, he would have discovered that protesters actually did carry weapons, that Trump most certainly riled up the “protesters,” and that Jan. 6 had all the trappings of an insurrection. Then, he wouldn’t have been forced to backtrack in a subsequent interview on mistakes in the statement. Even that follow-up was muddled, though, as Kennedy argued that “there were people who were there who wanted to obstruct the peaceful transfer of power,” but that did not meet the criteria for insurrection. Kennedy, it seems, is not interested in truth or facts. He is the poster child for “do your own research.” Some will argue that he is an iconoclastic thinker willing to challenge conventional wisdom. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with challenging authority and accepted truths. It can often be a laudable pursuit. But as is the case with another know-nothing presidential candidate, in Kennedy’s hands, it’s little more than oppositional hardheadedness with which the parents of young children are all too familiar. Kennedy’s worldview — and that of those who embrace his campaign for president — is emblematic of a strain of pseudointellectualism that confuses a refusal to accept facts with intellectual courage. In reality, moronic conspiracy theories are often just that: moronic conspiracy theories. But it’s also a byproduct of extreme privilege and arrogance. Being the son of Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy has gifted him a platform, resources and prominence. If his last name were Johnson or Smith, he’d just be another crank with a dozen followers on Twitter and a YouTube channel that nobody watches. The same, of course, can be said for Donald Trump, who, if not for the real estate empire bequeathed to him by his father, would likely be selling used cars in his home borough of Queens, New York. Both candidacies highlight one of the more remarkable aspects of this year’s presidential campaign. In a country supposedly founded on the idea of meritocracy, two of the three most prominent candidates for president are in the position to win the nation’s highest office almost exclusively because of extreme privilege and wealth. Meanwhile, the one candidate who has spent his life in public service and built himself up from his bootstraps must fight off the popularly held belief that he lacks the mental acuity to do the job of president. Unfortunately, because Kennedy is getting a not-insubstantial share of the vote in presidential polls, we have to pay attention to him. Fortunately, like all third-party candidates, it’s likely that these numbers will drop as we get closer to the November election. But make no mistake, Kennedy is completely out of his depth in running for president and has neither the smarts nor the temperament to do the job. The only thing more embarrassing than his bid for the White House is that so many of his fellow citizens are willing to embrace it.
Michael Cohen is an MSNBC columnist. He is also the publisher of the newsletter Truth and Consequences and hosts the weekly podcast That ‘70s Movie Podcast. 
