I just watched Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s Phoenix speech live, and admit I was transfixed by every word. Politicians, it turns out, can still speak intelligently, rationally, and with substance!
It's not as long as it looks (90 minutes)—the video says 90 minutes, but his speech doesn't start till 41:29. I highly recommend it.
Thanks to all the leaks, everyone was expecting Kennedy to endorse Donald Trump. And that he did, without drama, but with conviction, because he believes he can worth with President Trump, especially on the issues that drive his own vision: freedom of speech, war policy, and the unspoken epidemic of chronic disease in America. On these issues Kennedy spoke at length from his heart, taking advantage of this "bully pulpit."
I strongly recommend taking the time to listen.
For those who, like me, prefer reading to videos, Sasha Stone has provided a transcript of RFK Jr.'s speech.
What a difference three months can make: https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1794913465594962285.
In case the tweet is deleted, here is the full text:
President Trump scammed American workers. He promised to bring back manufacturing, raise wages, fix trade deals, close the carried interest loophole, and help small farmers. But everything President Trump achieved were things the Republican machine wanted. We got a tax cut for Jeff Bezos, deregulation for special interests, and giveaways to agriculture conglomerates.
President Trump let the Bush wing of the GOP run all his agencies. His Interior Secretary was an oil & gas lobbyist. His Defense Secretary was a Raytheon lobbyist. His EPA Administrator was a coal lobbyist. His HHS Secretary was a pharmaceutical lobbyist. And his Labor Secretary was a lawyer for mega corporations.
President Trump’s supposed support for farmers ($28 billion) all went to Big Ag conglomerates.
We had the worst rioting and looting this country had seen since the 60s under President Trump. He inflamed racial tensions and didn’t keep us safe. Instead of using federal law enforcement to stop the rioting, Trump thought it was good optics to let Democrat-run cities burn.
President Trump bragged about arming Ukraine more than Obama did. He also walked away unilaterally from the intermediate range nuclear missile treaty with Russia, destabilizing our relationship. He also exacerbated tensions between Ukraine and Russia that ultimately caused a war.
Trump appointed the worst neocons to the highest positions of power in his administration: John Bolton, HR McMaster, and Robert O’Brien. Now, Lindsey Graham is one of his top advisors and likely to be his Secretary of State.
President Trump bombed Syria, killed an Iranian general, and failed to fulfill his promise of ending the war in Afghanistan.
President Trump invented lockdowns. He shut down millions of small businesses and facilitated the greatest wealth transfer to billionaires in this country’s history.
President Trump did nothing to solve the opioid crisis. It got far worse under his tenure while his appointees running HHS were in the pocket of big pharma.
If you think a second Trump term would be any different, you are engaging in wishful thinking.
Yes, I hate that our politicians find it necessary to tear down their opponents so viciously. Especially during the party primaries, when they know that once the final candidate has been chosen they'll turn around and preach how great he is compared with the other guy. It reminds me of adolescent boys, who can call each other the worst names, even come to fisticuffs, then the next day be the best of friends. Repeatedly! Or maybe it's more like siblings, who may fight like cats and dogs within the family, but let there be an external threat and suddenly they're all family and solidarity.
I find the endorsement of Trump by Kennedy and other former opponents to be encouraging, because it's something that used to be common but I haven't seen for a couple of decades. Back in the 80's, 90's, and the beginning of this century, I was involved with a number of causes that were considered countercultural. Home education, natural childbirth/home birth/breastfeeding, the movement without a name that pushed for expecting children to be much more competent and responsible than society expects (or allows), as well as food freedom/better eating/better health. In every case, what I encountered was more diversity than I've seen anywhere else, as people set aside their obvious and sincere and even drastic differences in other areas to work together for something really important on which they agreed. It was an encouraging and uplifting time.
I believe that President Trump, Bobby Kennedy, Tulsi Gabbard, and many others are attempting the same kind of coalition. That's not to say that the differences just disappear, or that they aren't going to have to struggle and compromise to achieve what they believe they've been called to do, but they're willing to work together to accomplish something critically important to them all, and I wish them well.
