PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Longtime environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday he’ll run for president as an independent and drop his Democratic primary bid, adding a wrinkle to a 2024 race heading toward a likely rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Speaking Monday from Philadelphia’s Independence Mall, where America’s founding documents were adopted, Kennedy said there is a “rising tide of discontent” in the country and said he wants to make a “new Declaration of Independence” — from corporations, the media and the two major political parties.
“I’ve come here today to declare our independence from the tyranny of corruption which robs us of affordable lives, our belief in the future, and our respect for each other,” Kennedy said. “But to do that I must first declare my own independence. Independence from the Democratic Party and from all other political parties.”
