Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Says He’s ‘Proud' That Trump Likes Him

The comment at NewsNations Town Hall came after RFK Jr. pulls out of Moms for Liberty Conference

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, in Los Angeles, Calif. on Feb. 6, 2023. York Du/The Epoch Times

Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy on June 28 said the focus of his 2024 campaign was to bring people together, and he doesn’t want to “alienate people.”

In a town hall hosted by News Nations in Chicago, Kennedy was asked how he thinks of Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump.

“I’m not going to attack other people personally,” he said. “I don’t think it’s good for our country.”

“What I’m trying to do in this race is bring people together is to try to bridge the divide between Americans.”

“I’m proud that President Trump likes me, even though I don’t agree with him on most of his issues.”

Kennedy announced his presidential campaign in April, becoming one of two candidates challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination. The other is author Marianne Williamson.

Moderator Elizabeth Vargas noted Kennedy’s supporters included a lot of leading voices on the right, such as former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, talk show host Tucker Carlson, and Alex Jones.

Trump also heaps praise for the Democratic hopeful.

“He’s been very nice to me. I’ve actually had a very nice relationship with him over the years. He’s a very smart guy and a good guy,” Trump said of Kennedy during the radio talk show, “The Howie Carr Show,” on June 26.

A Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, stands on stage after being introduced during the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women's Lilac Luncheon in Concord, N.H., on June 27, 2023. Scott Eisen/Getty Images

The former president stated that he was impressed by a surge of support for Kennedy’s 2024 presidential campaign.

“He’s doing really well. I saw a poll; he’s at 22. That’s pretty good! That’s pretty good, doing very well,” Trump said.

Trump, the current frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, suggested he hasn’t talked to his potential rival, but he’s willing to do so in the future.

“He’s a common sense guy, and so am I. So, whether you’re conservative or liberal, common sense is common sense,” he said. “A lot of what I run on is common sense.”

During Wednesday’s town hall event, Kennedy highlighted his goal was to bring people together, and he felt flattered by the wide spectrum of supporters.

“I want to bring people together. I’m proud that all these people like me, and that I have independent supporters and Democratic supporters, and I’m able to bring a lot of people,” he said.

“Every Democrat says, I want to end the polarization. But how do you do that without talking to people who don’t agree with you?” he continued. “My purpose is to find the issues of values that we have in common other than focus on the issues and the personalities that keep us all apart.”

President Joe Biden addresses union workers in Philadelphia, Pa., on June 17, 2023. Mark Makela/Getty Images

‘I Don’t Have a Plan B’

There are also speculations that Kennedy would finally run as an independent, which Democrats say would hurt Biden and pave the way for Trump’s return to the White House. Kennedy, who declared to be a lifelong Democrat, was asked whether he would back whoever his party nominated.

“Oh, of course, I’m not gonna do that,” Kennedy replied.

“So if you don’t get the nomination, you won’t support President Biden?” Vargas asked.

“I don’t know what I’ll do,” Kennedy said. “Let’s see what happens in this campaign. Let’s see … if people are living up to democratic values and having debates and having discussions and, you know, talking to each other, but I’m not going to bite.”

According to the latest RealClearPolitics average of polls, Biden leads the Democratic primary field with 64 percent of the vote. Kennedy places a distant second at 14.4 percent.

Pressed by Vargas about whether he would support a Republican presidential candidate or run as an independent, Kennedy said, “My plan is to win this election, and I don’t have a Plan B.”

A sign reading "We Do Not CO-PARENT with the Government" is seen in the hallway during the inaugural Moms For Liberty Summit at the Tampa Marriott Water Streetin Tampa, Florida, on July 15, 2022. Octavio Jones/Getty Images

Dropped out of Moms for Liberty Summit

Kennedy differs from Biden and progressive Democrats on multiple issues.

An environmental attorney and the founder of Children’s Health Defense, Kennedy is widely known for his outspoken stances about the dangers of the COVID-19 vaccines to some in the population who were forced to take them, and of vaccines in general.

Kennedy drew headlines last week when Moms for Liberty announced the Democrat presidential candidate would be a guest speaker at its annual summit in Philadelphia.

Moms for Liberty is a Florida-based nonprofit that has pushed for banning sexually explicit books in school libraries and limiting critical race theory in curricula. On June 20, a group of Democrats from the Pennsylvania Senate penned a letter to the Museum of the American Revolution, criticizing the decision to agree to host Moms for Liberty’s event and pressuring the museum to cancel it.

The convention, which will begin on June 29, features GOP hopefuls, including Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. ​​Former South Carolina Nikki Haley, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson are also on this year’s speaker list.

On Monday, the non-profit group said Kennedy pulled out of the conference.

“The RFK campaign told us his schedule changed ,and he can no longer speak to our Summit,"  Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, said in a statement to The Epoch Times.

The press team of Kennedy’s campaign The Epoch Times on Wednesday that he “dropped out for family reasons.”

Samantha Flom and Jeff Louderback contributed to this report.