RFK Portrait Session.Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
News this week thatRobert F. Kennedy Jr.isplanning a 2024 presidential runfelt, for many Americans, all too familiar. Fifty-five years prior to RFK Jr. filingpaperworkwith the Federal Election Commission to challengeJoe Bidenas a Democratic candidate, his father and namesake launched his own fateful run for the office.
Robert F. Kennedy, the younger brother of late PresidentJohn F. Kennedy, was a New York senator and former U.S. Attorney General when he announced his decision to run for the nation’s highest office in March 1968 — five years after JFK was assassinated as commander-in-chief.
He ran on a platform of social change, racial and economic justice — a message that resonated with some, but alienated others.
While Kennedy fell behind Minnesota Sen. Eugene McCarthy in some early Democratic primaries, he scored major victories in both California and South Dakota on June 4, 1968. The next night, he spoke to supporters from a ballroom at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles to celebrate the achievement.
In what would be his final speech, Kennedy spoke about the “the divisions, the violence, the disenchantment with our society,” adding his hope that “we can start to work together.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Evan Vucci/AP
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“If it looks like I can raise the money and mobilize enough people to win, I’ll jump in the race,” he tweeted. “If I run, my top priority will be to end the corrupt merger between state and corporate power that has ruined our economy, shattered the middle class, polluted our landscapes and waters, poisoned our children, and robbed us of our values and freedoms.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cheryl Hines.Robert F Kennedy Jr/Instagram
“Everyone [in the family] loves him and recognizes his talent,” Doug, 56, said. “Not everyone agrees with his positions.”
source: people.com
