After the hush money verdict was announced Thursday, Donald Trump was not the only presidential candidate to criticize the court’s decision — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took a jab, too.
“The Democratic Party’s strategy is to beat President Trump in the courtroom rather than the ballot box,” Kennedy said in a statement posted to X. “This will backfire in November. Even worse, it is profoundly undemocratic.”
Kennedy’s criticism echoed Trump and the outcry of Republicans after the verdict was read, saying it was “compromising our government’s separation of powers or weaponizing the courts.”
He also attempted to draw a contrast between his campaign and President Joe Biden’s, claiming he is running against Trump’s track record, such as the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and increasing the national debt.
“I’ll challenge him on these things, but the Democrats won’t. You know why? Because they pursue the very same policies,” he continued.
RFK Jr.’s running mate, Silicon Valley billionaire Nicole Shanahan, did not explicitly mention Trump or the hush money case in her X post about the verdict, instead gesturing to the “weaponization of the justice system for political gain.”
“Weaponizing the press, the judiciary and each other puts us all in the barrel,” Shanahan said.
Even RFK Jr.’s campaign director Amaryllis Fox seized the opportunity to take a shot at the verdict, and like Shanahan, appeared to reiterate their boss’ claim of Biden “weaponizing the courts.”
“Some know full well the demons they unleash. Others content themselves that ends justify means,” Fox wrote on X. “Until, predictably, inevitably, the monster they’ve created is turned upon them.”
“The road to tyranny is paved with good intentions,” she concluded.
Notably, Kennedy’s own friends, family and former colleagues have said his candidacy could be a spoiler campaign and hand the election to Trump, who has himself said he would be a dictator if re-elected (but only on “Day One” in office). In April, one of RFK Jr.’s own staffers admitted their campaign could throw the election to Trump — and was promptly fired.
