Robert F. Kennedy Jr. slammed the jury’s verdict in former President Trump’s New York hush money case Thursday, calling it “profoundly undemocratic” and warning it will “backfire” against Democrats in November.
“America deserves a President who can win at the ballot box without compromising our government’s separation of powers or weaponizing the courts. You can’t save democracy by destroying it first,” Kennedy wrote on the social platform X. “The Democrats are afraid they will lose in the voting booth, so instead they go after President Trump in the courtroom.”
“I’m also running against President Trump in this election. The difference is I’m challenging him on his record. His lockdowns during Covid. His atrocious environmental record. His cozy relationship with corporate America,” he added, also listing Trump’s “support for the war machine” and “service to the billionaire class” as aspects of his record that should be scrutinized.
Kennedy claimed that Democrats wouldn’t challenge Trump on his recor,d because they pushed for the same policies he did.
Trump became the first former or current president to become a convicted felon Thursday when a Manhattan jury found him guilty of falsifying business records. He was found guilty on all 34 counts, marking a watershed moment in U.S. history.
Trump slammed the verdict, calling it a “rigged trial by a conflicted judge.” Allies of his rushed to his defense, as did Republicans long considered to be at odds with the former president.
“These charges never should have been brought in the first place. I expect the conviction to be overturned on appeal,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on X.
Kennedy is running a long-shot, independent campaign to take on both Trump and Biden.
The verdict has injected uncertainty into the race, with its impact voters heading into the November election unclear, including third-party voters and those who voted for Trump rival Nikki Haley. Many Republicans, however, believe it will only strengthen the former president politically.