But not me," and "Our campaign's request included a 67-page report from the world's leading protection firm, detailing unique and well established security and safety risks aside from commonplace death threats".

[49] Separate analyses by CNN and WJNO radio found that Kennedy had not been treated differently than other presidential candidates and had not yet met the requirements to automatically receive Secret Service protection.

[50][51] Shortly after the July 13, 2024 attempted assassination of Republican candidate Donald Trump, President Biden ordered the Secret Service to provide protection for Kennedy.

Other potential candidates that met with Kennedy include motivational speaker Tony Robbins, television host Mike Rowe, and civil rights attorney Tricia Lindsay.

[86] Sources also told ABC News that Kennedy is considering dropping out by the end of the week and endorsing Trump, with hopes to blunt the 2024 Democratic National Convention momentum.

[93] The Kennedy campaign indicated in late December 2023 that it would focus its ballot access efforts in "Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New York and Texas.

"[97] On December 27, 2023, the Kennedy campaign announced it had achieved ballot access for the first time in Utah,[98] which was confirmed the following day by the Salt Lake County clerk's office.

Kennedy threatened legal action and accused the Nevada Secretary of State of colluding with the Democratic National Committee to block his ballot access, which it denied.

The party's chair, Doug Dern, told The Detroit News after Kennedy announced that he was withdrawing from the ballot that "He pretended to support third-party politics then goes running back to the two-party system."

[165] In February the Democratic National Committee filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that the ballot access operation was illegal coordination with the Kennedy campaign.

[169] He asserted that Anne Frank and Jews in Nazi Germany had more freedom than American citizens amid vaccine mandates in churches and schools, and business closures.

King claimed Johnson was "an open flaming Feminine closet Gay" in an April 10 post on X, further adding "How is he gonna lead heterosexual black men to the Republican Party?"

Politico reported the comments continued "a pattern of behavior from Kennedy's consultants that has drawn negative attention and forced the campaign to respond," and that it could turn off voters and donors.

A spokesman from his campaign later released a statement saying that Kennedy had misunderstood the question because it had been asked in a noisy and crowded exhibition hall, saying that the candidate "does not support legislation banning abortion" and is always in favor of a person's right to choose.

"[190] A campaign fundraising email sent in April 2024 said that Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and the January 6 rioters were political activists who had been wrongly "stripped of their Constitutional liberties.

[191] Shortly after the marketing email was sent out and during a statement to clarify his position on the Capitol attack, Kennedy said he would appoint a special prosecutor to determine if those charged were politically prosecuted, questioned whether the riot qualified as an insurrection, and stated he was "disturbed by the weaponization of government" against Trump.

[192] Following Trump's conviction of 34 felonies by a jury in his New York hush money case, Kennedy, agreeing with the Republican stance, called the verdict "profoundly undemocratic" and attacked Democrats by claiming that the prosecution was politically motivated.

"[32] He was strongly critical of the contemporary political economy of the United States, describing it as a "cushy socialism for the rich and this kind of brutal, merciless capitalism for the poor".

"[195][196] In an interview with The Hill's Rising program, Kennedy expressed support for "giving some kind of massive debt forgiveness" for student loans in order to "unleash" creative energies and "rebuild the country.

[218] Kennedy believes that the administration of President Joe Biden in large part caused the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia due to reckless and militant action; he has specifically cited the issue of NATO expansion into Eastern Europe.

[230][231][232] In a book review of The Real Anthony Fauci, psychiatrist Theodore Dalrymple observes that Kennedy often dismisses the widespread scientific consensus that HIV causes AIDS.

[235] Kennedy opposed the decision of the Colorado Supreme Court to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the ballot in the state Republican primary, arguing that the move deprived voters of their right to choose.

[262][263] In an opinion poll conducted by the Siena College Research Institute, and released on November 7, 2023, in six battleground states, Kennedy gained 24% of the total vote, compared to Biden at 33%, and Trump at 35%.

[269] His sister Kerry Kennedy told Business Insider, "I love my brother Bobby, but I do not share or endorse his opinions on many issues, including the COVID pandemic, vaccinations and the role of social media platforms in policing false information.

His cousin, Stephen Kennedy Smith, also stated "This is a mistake we can not afford as a country...when RFK Jr. decided to run he didn't call me to ask for help because he knew I would oppose his candidacy due to his misguided stands on issues, his poor judgement, and tenuous relationship with the truth."

"[273][274][275][276] In full-page advertisements sponsored by the group's political arm, Kennedy's former colleagues at the Natural Resources Defense Council, including four NRDC former presidents, called his campaign a "vanity candidacy" that is "only about spreading misinformation and growing his brand.

[277][278] Kennedy's campaign has been noted for having drawn significant support from Republican donors and Trump allies who believe he will draw enough votes to serve as a spoiler for Biden.

On April 10, 2024, The New York Times reported that Timothy Mellon was the largest single donor to Kennedy's super PAC, giving $20 million over the past year and $15 million to Trump's super PAC MAGA Inc.[18] In April 2023, CBS News reported that former Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon "had been encouraging Kennedy to run for months", believing he could serve as a "useful chaos agent" and promote opposition to vaccines.

[282][281][283][284][285] Former Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush speechwriter Douglas MacKinnon wrote in a May 2023 opinion piece in The Hill that he believed Kennedy would ultimately be the 2024 Democratic nominee, asserting that he was "still not convinced President Joe Biden will actually run for reelection".

Kennedy also received over one percent of the vote in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia.