JFK's nephew Robert Kennedy Jr announces 2024 presidential bid at campaign launch event

Robert Kennedy Jr., a well-known opponent of vaccines and the nephew of 35th US President John F Kennedy publicly declared his run for the 2024 presidency at a campaign launch event onWednesday."I've come here today to announce my candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States," he said at the campaign launch in the US state of Massachusetts.

The state served as a bastion for the Kennedy family. Prior to becoming president, JFK was the Democratic representative for Massachusetts in both chambers of the US Congress. The crowd at the campaign launch in Boston had Kennedy's supporters who wore hats bearing anti-vaccination themes.

During the event, Kennedy swore to tell the "truth" to the American people in order to address the country's severe political polarisation, as per AFP quoting the JFK nephew.

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This comes as US President Joe Biden has also frequently stated his intention to run for office. However, the president is yet to formally announce his bid for the Democratic Party's candidatureto challenge the 69-year-old outsider.

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Biden's public launch is expected later in the year, however, there is no date fixed yet. A few other candidates have also declared their intention to challenge the 80-year-old Biden for the Democratic nomination, but no well-known figures have entered the contest. Marianne Williamson, the self-help guru, launched a Democratic presidential bid for 2024 in March. An author, she is calling out to support "profound, positive, peaceful change in America" for the next generations.

Kennedy dropped clues about his presidential ambitions in a Twitter post last month. He sought help in deciding whether he should run for the White House or not."If it looks like I can raise the money and mobilise enough people to win, I’ll jump in the race," he wrote.

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"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."

Who is Robert Kennedy Jr.?

Kennedy's father "RFK" was the Democratic president John F. Kennedy's attorney general and also a New York senator. The assassinations of both Kennedy brothers, JFK in 1963 and RFK in 1968, are considered two of the most important political moments in US history.

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An environmental lawyer, RFK Jr. has come to be renowned since 2005 for his advocacy of conspiracy theories against vaccines, particularly those that claim vaccinations cause autism.

He was appointed in 2017 by former US President Donald Trump to lead a presidential panel that would examine the safety of vaccines. This decision prompted instant condemnation from scientists and public health professionals.

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