How far will Robert Kennedy Jr go? Despite criticism, particularly from the family clan, the son of Robert Kennedy, brother and minister of justice of JFK, continues his journey as an independent candidate for the presidential election in November. Tuesday March 26, the 70-year-old lawyer announced the choice of the woman who, in the event of victory, would accompany him to the White House as vice-president: a 38-year-old jurist and philanthropist, Nicole Shanahan, presented as “a brilliant scientist, technologist, mother and warrior.”
A duo of lawyers to defend the American dream
With this choice, the son of a good family who wants to be the white knight of the American dream drives the point home. “I want it to represent the growing share of young people who have lost confidence in their future and pride in their country,” he declared Tuesday while presenting his “VP”. “She has extensive knowledge of how the government uses technology to manipulate the public. She will be able to stand up to Silicon Valley,” released the man who, as a lawyer, went to war against polluting companies before also attacking the pharmaceutical industry, which he accuses, without proof, of promoting dangerous vaccines.
Nicole Shanahan has the typical CV of the American dream: born to a mother who immigrated from China and an American father faced with addiction problems, she grew up in a complicated environment, benefiting from social programs, before founding her company , still a law student, and to make her fortune. Then to continue his journey in Silicon Valley. It was there that she met the man who would become her husband, Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, from whom she is separated.
A candidacy that does not weaken in the polls
Robert Kennedy Jr is therefore the first candidate to announce the name of his number two. Which is not accidental. Because independents must complete numerous procedures, state by state, to be able to appear on the ballot. However, some States require, beforehand, the name of the possible vice-president. Hence an accelerated timetable for RFK Jr, engaged in a gigantic signature race, with as many rules as there are states. In California, 75,000 signatures must be obtained between March 13 and May 28; in New York State, candidates have just over a month to collect 45,000 initials, etc.
For now, only Utah has approved its candidacy. But according to his campaign, the number of signatures has already been reached in New Hampshire, Nevada and Hawaii, and operations are well underway elsewhere in the country, thanks to volunteers and donations to finance this effort. Because this campaign is clearly not a flash in the pan: the latest Harvard-Harris survey gives him 17% of voting intentions, unheard of since Texan Ross Perot in the 1990s. Enough to explain Donald Trump’s attacks – “RFK Jr is a leftist who has a leftist as his running mate » – and the efforts of Biden camp lawyers to limit his presence on the ballot…