As an activist and lawyer, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent decades battling for many environmental protections that Trump has worked to undo as president.
By Peter Jamison, The Washington PostRepublican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump embraces Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after getting his endorsement at a campaign rally at the Desert Diamond Arena, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz.
Now he joins a campaign whose policies, according to critics, would scale back those regulations and weaken the agencies that uphold them.even those who had already broken with him over his anti-vaccine views or quixotic presidential bid. Some said the move undid any legacy Kennedy - named one of Time magazine’s “heroes of the planet” in 1999 - could still claim to have in the nation’s environmental movement.
“In terms of policy issues that people hold dear, I can’t think of another example where a prominent political figure with such a strong record on one issue can go so dramatically and rapidly in the other direction,” Brune said.
When it comes to environmental principles, Kennedy’s past rhetoric and activism would seem to align more closely with the Harris-Walz campaign, said Maria Lopez-Nuñez, a partner at Agency, an environmental justice nonprofit and member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. She said Harris has been a key figure over the past four years in efforts to extend environmental protections to marginalized people.
In a brief phone interview Friday night before he appeared onstage at a rally with Trump, Kennedy said he was “not enthralled with the Democrats’ performance” on environmental issues. Although he had hinted in his speech that his portfolio in a Trump White House could focus on public health, he said that he believed he could also sway environmental policies.
Trump apparently overcame some of his own past qualms about his new surrogate’s environmental views. In May, Trump called Kennedy “the dumbest member of the Kennedy Clan” in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying, “He’s a Radical Left Lunatic whose crazy Climate Change views make the Democrat’s Green New Scam look Conservative.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
RFK Jr. Offered Multiple Cabinet Positions In RFK Jr.’s Administration, RFK Jr. ReportsAmerica’s Finest News Source
Read more »
WaPo and NYT Report RFK Sought Harris Cabinet Position, RFK Calls it ‘Fake News’See multiple perspectives from Axios, Breitbart News, and Washington Post at AllSides.com.
Read more »
RFK Jr. news: Kennedy running mate says campaign considering dropping out, endorsing TrumpRobert F. Kennedy Jr.'s running mate Nicole Shanahan said the Kennedy campaign is considering dropping out of the race and endorsing former President Donald Trump.
Read more »
RFK Jr. news: Kennedy running mate says campaign considering dropping out, endorsing TrumpRobert F. Kennedy Jr.'s running mate Nicole Shanahan said the Kennedy campaign is considering dropping out of the race and endorsing former President Donald Trump.
Read more »
RFK Jr. news: Kennedy running mate says campaign considering dropping out, endorsing TrumpRobert F. Kennedy Jr.'s running mate Nicole Shanahan said the Kennedy campaign is considering dropping out of the race and endorsing former President Donald Trump.
Read more »
All About Conor Kennedy, RFK Jr.'s Private Son Who Was Once Linked to Taylor SwiftWhen you think about the Kennedys, you think about knowing anything and everything about them, like in previous generations. However, that isn’t exactly the case with Conor Kennedy. Despite being a Kennedy, Conor keeps his life on the more private side.
Read more »