Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Newsmax on Friday that the goal of the Democratic Party in the 1960s was to ensure that every person had the right to vote.
He told "Rob Schmitt Tonight" it is why he is so troubled to see the today's Democratic Party become so fixated on weaponizing government against its political opponents.
Kennedy initially wanted to challenge President Joe Biden in the Democrat primary but said he was forced out by the Democratic National Committee, prompting him to run as an independent. He said the party has tried to keep him off several state ballots, including New York, and he is against the political prosecutions of former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate.
"When I grew up, the Democratic Party — my uncle, my father, Martin Luther King Jr. — the big objective of the Democratic Party was to give every American the right to vote for the person that they wanted to vote for," Kennedy said. "And today ... the Democratic Party is pretending to defend democracy by destroying it.
"They pushed me out of the primary. And I don't want to make this about me, but all of the weaponization of the courts against political candidates."
"They should run against Donald Trump, not try to put him in jail. I'm not a fan of Donald Trump's. I'm running against him myself. I'm very critical of his policies. But I want to run on an even playing field. I don't want to win the presidency by putting my opponents in prison," he said.
Kennedy has spent the week in Albany, New York, defending a lawsuit against him that challenges his claim that he lives in New York and that seeks to keep him off the state's presidential ballot.
"The DNC is spending $3 billion not amplifying the record of Biden and [Kamala] Harris, but rather trying to sabotage and keep off the ballot people who they don't want to run for election," he said.
Kennedy said when his father was attorney general in his uncle's administration, he made sure there was no inkling of political bias in the Department of Justice.
"When my dad took over the Justice Department in 1961, the first week in office, he assembled all the division chiefs or the branch chiefs, and he said, 'We never ask what somebody's political affiliation is,'" he said.
"It's critical that people know that our institutions in government are not politicized, that they're blind to your political affiliation. That justice is neutral."
"Otherwise, the American people are going to lose faith in their institutions. And that's really what makes American democracy work," Kennedy said.
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
- Find Newsmax channel in your home via cable and satellite systems – More Info Here
- Watch Newsmax+ on your home TV app or smartphone and watch it anywhere! Try it for FREE -- See More Here: NewsmaxPlus.com
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.