RFK Jr – live: Musk reveals Twitter revenue down by half as he hosts anti-vax 2024 White House hopeful
Robert F Kennedy Jr has long-held, and promoted, anti-vaccine beliefs
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Your support makes all the difference.Democrat presidential candidate and notable anti-vaccine advocate Robert F Kennedy Jr joined Elon Musk and David Sacks on Twitter Spaces on Monday 5 June to discuss the former’s bid for the White House.
Mr Kennedy was also joined by Tulsi Gabbard, Balaji Srinivasan, Omeed Malik, Michael Shellenberger and Kelly Slater at the event.
The Twitter Spaces event comes just weeks after Mr Musk and Mr Sacks hosted and moderated a similar audio listening event with presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, where he launched his own campaign.
Notably, the Spaces session was filled with technological glitches, which Mr Sacks attributed to a high volume of listeners.
Following the event, Mr Musk welcomed all candidates onto Twitter and said he would be open to hosting other candidates on Twitter Spaces.
But some were unhappy with Mr Musk’s decision to host Mr Kennedy as he has been previously banned from social platforms for spreading misinformation.
Twitter Spaces event begins with elevator music after delays
Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk went live several minutes after its scheduled 2pm EST time slot and kicked off with elevator music.
Approximately 23,000 people waited in the Spaces for nearly 15 minutes after 2pm until David Sacks kicked off the event.
RFK Jr begins by praising Elon Musk
Presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr started his Twitter Spaces event by praising Elon Musk for advocating for free speech.
“Your arrival at Twitter, Elon, has been, I think, a breath of fresh air for our country,” Mr Kennedy said.
For the first several minutes of the event, Mr Kennedy gushed over Mr Musk’s work to bring total free speech to the platform – a goal that Mr Musk has been extremely vocal about.
However, a lack of censorship on the platform has led to some controversy from critics who believe it has given misinformation an opportunity to flourish.
RFK Jr calls traditional media organisations “propaganda vessels”
Presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr accused traditional media organisations of being “propaganda vessels” of the government and large corporations in the United States.
During Monday’s Twitter Spaces event, host Elon Musk said the: “Legacy of traditional media is also entirely, with some exceptions, working in lockstep with the government and with corporate America it is really their obligation to question the government, not go along with it and be their mouthpiece.”
Mr Kennedy, a Democrat candidate, agreed with Mr Musk and said, “They’ve become propaganda vessels”.
RFK Jr calls Elon Musk a ‘key instrument for rescuing American democracy’
Robert F Kennedy Jr spent much of the first half of his Twitter Spaces praising Elon Musk and asking him questions about his ideas.
Mr Kennedy asked and praised Mr Musk for his work to decrease censorship on Twitter as well as his work with the neurotechnology company Neuralink.
“I just want to tell you how much I admire you for that and how grateful I am on behalf of my country,” Mr Kennedy said. “You would come here from another country and be a key instrument for rescuing American Democracy and freedom of speech.”
Twitter users mock RFK Jr and Elon Musk’s ‘love fest’ Spaces event
The first 30 minutes of Robert F Kennedy Jr and Elon Musk’s Twitter Spaces event seemed to be dedicated to Mr Kennedy praising Mr Musk for his work on Twitter and other companies he owns.
On the social media platform, Twitter users mocked Mr Kennedy for gushing over Mr Musk.
“RFK Jr. does know Elon can’t be his running mate, right? This love fest is too much for me,” one Twitter user wrote.
One Twitter user said they were interested in better understanding Mr Kennedy’s perspective and stances but were disappointed by the event.
“Not to be disrespectful, but this space sounds like RFK Jr. is interviewing Musk- I for one would like a little more insight into RFK Jr.’s stances. Am I the only one who feels this way?” Tirah wrote.
Robert F Kennedy Jr’s voice disorder: spasmodic dysphonia
Presidential candidate and anti-vaccine advocate Robert F Kennedy Jr told O, the Oprah Magazine, in 2007 that he has spasmodic dysphonia, a medical condition that causes his voice to tremble.
The condition is a voice disorder that causes involuntary spasms in the muscles of the voice box. As a result, Mr Kennedy’s voice can break or sound strained.
Spasmodic dysphonia is a life-long condition but does not affect life expectancy.
"The disease didn’t hit me until I was about 43,” Mr Kennedy told O. “I used to have a strong voice,"
“It began as a mild tremble for a couple of years. After people would hear me speak, I’d get all these letters, almost always from women: “I saw you on TV and you were crying—it was so good seeing a man share his feelings!” I’d think, Oh God. I knew for every woman who wrote, there were ten men saying, “Look at this friggin’ crybaby!” Mr Kennedy said in 2007.
RFK Jr says the solution to bad speech ‘is more speech’
Mr Kennedy called himself, “pretty much a free-speech absolutist” when asked about transparency and censorship.
“The remedy for bad speech is more speech,” Mr Kennedy said.
RFK Jr believes the US needs to seal the border
When speaking about immigration, 2024 candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr said he believes the US needs to, “seal our border” during Monday’s Twitter Spaces event.
Mr Kennedy said that the US should focus on taking care of Americans who cannot afford to live before taking on those seeking asylum.
Though, he acknowledged that many people seeking asylum in the US from Central and South America are doing so as a direct result of, “bad US politics in the South.”
Mr Kennedy said he planned to go to the US-Mexico border on Monday night to meet with people “on both sides.”
RFK Jr blames President Biden for steering Democrats toward war
Mr Kennedy reflected on the Democrat party of his father, Robert F Kennedy, and uncle, John F Kennedy, and said he blames President Joe Biden for steering Democrats toward war.
“I attribute that directly to President Biden,” Mr Kennedy said calling Democrats “pro-war.”
The 2024 presidential candidate said he liked Mr Biden but found he had a “pugnacious” approach to foreign politics.
He accused Mr Biden of believing, “Violence is a legitimate political tool to achieving America’s objects abroad.”
RFK Jr spreads conspiracy about Covid calling it ‘a bioweapons problem'
During his Twitter Spaces event, Mr Kennedy called Covid-19 a “bioweapon problem” and insinuated it was not a real disease.
Mr Kennedy went on a conspiracy tangent about other countries developing bioweapons against the United States, saying US leaders should be quick to negotiate and de-escalate tensions.
“Covid was clearly a bioweapons problem,” Mr Kennedy said. “What if it was a real disease?”
Mr Kennedy has spread misinformation about Covid-19 since the pandemic began. For years, he promoted anti-vaccine beliefs.
He was banned from Instagram in 2021 for posting debunked information about the Covid-19 vaccine. His account was reinstated this week due to his presidential campaign.
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