PORTLAND, Maine — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate, is seeking to establish ballot access in Maine through a platform mixed with conspiracy theories and rooted in an appeal to disillusionment among young Americans.
"We have a whole generation that’s feeling dispossessed, that’s alienated, that’s marginalized and depressed," Kennedy said.
In a wide-ranging interview Friday with NEWS CENTER Maine, the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy laid out his vision for a presidency fixed in scientific skepticism and isolationist policies.
As war rages in Ukraine, Kennedy blamed the United States and NATO, in part, for Russia’s decision to invade its neighbor in 2022.
"Putin was provoked to go into Ukraine. I’m not saying that. ... I’m not defending Putin; he had other options. But he made it very clear that he wanted to leave Ukraine," Kennedy said Friday, faulting NATO for eyeing expansion into Eastern Europe.
Kennedy also doubled down on a COVID-19 conspiracy theory he spread in 2023, claiming persons of Ashkenazi Jewish or Chinese descent were more immune to COVID-19 than other groups. Kennedy was seen in a video taken by the New York Post as saying, "COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people."
On Friday, he defended the comment.
"This is a scientific study. It's not a racist statement; it's just the truth," Kennedy said.
However, the study he referenced, which was published in 2020, did not in fact state the virus targeted certain racial groups.
When questioned about his stance on abortion, Kennedy said he supported Roe v. Wade, which protected the right to an abortion at the federal level until it was overturned nearly two years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Kennedy also expressed support for certain restrictions on abortion at the federal level.
"After the fetus becomes viable outside of the womb ... the state has an escalating interest in protecting that life," Kennedy said. "I think every abortion is a tragedy."
Kennedy’s platform is notable not only for his particular stances but for the issues he emphasizes at large, like what he calls a chronic disease epidemic.
"We’re mass poisoning our people, and particularly this generation of children," Kennedy said Friday.
Now, as Kennedy tries to insert himself as a viable third option in the matchup between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, he does so without the backing of several members of his own family, who have formally endorsed Biden.
"I wish the same thing could happen for our country, that we could disagree on issues without hating each other," Kennedy said.
According to his campaign website, Kennedy has not yet secured ballot access in Maine, which requires 4,000 signatures.