Following the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government farce of a hearing this Thursday, where Republicans trotted out conspiracy theorist Robert Kennedy Jr. to play the victim for them, the hosts of Fox's Outnumbered feigned ignorance over the fact that he's being promoted and funded by a bunch of crazy right wingers.
As The Hill reported, House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had this to say after Kennedy's embarrassing appearance at the hearing:
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) lambasted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Thursday, accusing the long-shot Democratic presidential contender of promoting racism and conspiracy theories — and being a pawn in the Republican effort to topple President Biden.
“Why would you give Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a congressional platform to spew his hatred? Here’s the answer: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a living, breathing false-flag operation,” Jeffries said. “His whole campaign is being run by right-wing political operatives who have one objective: try to take down President Joe Biden.”
Which naturally gave the propagandists on Rupert Murdoch's pretend "news" channel a case of the vapors. After defending Kennedy and basically doing a free political ad for him, Cheryl Casone read Jeffries' statement, and claimed it proves "how worried" Democrats are about him, which was responded to by Kayleigh McEnany, who asked "Who's the right wing operative running his campaign? I'd love to know." as though she's got no idea that a bunch of her old Trump buddies have been promoting this guy for years and that the right has been funding his campaign.
As Media Matters has reported, Steve Bannon has spent years promoting RFK Jr. and his crackpot anti-vaccine theories:
Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has spent nearly two years promoting anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and Democratic presidential primary candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his War Room podcast in a mutually beneficial relationship that could have disastrous public health consequences for the country and the world.
Both men have used their substantial platforms to spread incorrect information about vaccines and COVID-19, which could now reach an even wider audience given Kennedy’s longshot campaign.
Bannon reportedly encouraged Kennedy to run against President Joe Biden in the Democratic Party primary, believing he could be “both a useful chaos agent in [the] 2024 race and a big name who could help stoke anti-vax sentiment around the country,” according to CBS’ Robert Costa. Other right-wing pundits have similarly exploited Kennedy’s run as an attempt to undermine Biden’s support among Democrats with the aim of weakening him in the general election.
And as Judd Legum has reported in Popular Information, GOP donors fuel RFK Jr's presidential campaign:
Mark Dickson, a Californian who amassed a fortune treating aluminum for the aerospace industry, has donated more than $450,000 to federal candidates since 2015. The total includes $400,000 to Trump Victory, the joint fundraising committee that allows individuals to contribute large amounts to support Donald Trump. That money was then distributed to Trump's presidential campaign, the Republican National Committee, state Republican parties, and others working on behalf of Trump.
Keith Sheldon, a retired car dealership executive from Argyle, Texas, also has consistently backed Trump. In 2016, Sheldon donated $5,400, then the individual maximum, to Trump's presidential campaign and affiliated committees. In 2020, Sheldon donated the new individual maximum, $5,600, to Trump's reelection campaign. In 2022, Sheldon donated $2,900 to one of Trump's favorites, Senate candidate Herschel Walker (R-GA). Over the years, Sheldon, a registered Republican, donated several thousand dollars to GOP candidates for the House of Representatives.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records, neither Dickson nor Sheldon has ever donated a dime to a Democrat. Until now. This year, both donated $6,600 — the current legal maximum — to Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a Democratic candidate for president.
Dickson and Sheldon's sudden interest in a Democratic primary candidate is unexpected. But, for Kennedy's campaign, it is not uncommon. According to a Popular Information analysis of Kennedy's first FEC filing, the lion's share of Kennedy's biggest donors have previously only donated to Republicans.
And then there are the PACs:
In addition to the individual contributions, Kennedy also received $6,600 from Purple Good Government PAC, a committee controlled by David Sacks, an investor publicly backing Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis. American Values 2024, a Super PAC supporting Kennedy, said it raised $10.25 million in the first half of the year. As a Super PAC, it is not required to disclose its donors until the end of July. But the group's co-chair indicated that about 50% of the money came from Republican donors. A second Super PAC supporting Kennedy, Common Sense PAC, has not released any information about its fundraising.
Legum has much more on his collaboration with the right wing and cozying up with the likes of Roger Stone and Michael Flynn. But sure Fox, tell us how his campaign isn't being run by right wingers.
