The controversy over Robert F Kennedy Jr’s exploits with a dead bear cub is just the latest bizarre twist to hit his presidential campaign and see him become a “laughing stock”, political experts said, but a laughing stock who, against all odds, could still seriously impact the election.
Kennedy, the scion of the Democratic political family who is running as an independent candidate, was already known for unusual beliefs and actions before last week. His long shot campaign for president had survived Kennedy’s claim that part of his brain was eaten by a worm, his longtime anti-vaccine activism, and his recent denials that he had eaten a dog.
But the latest controversy to emerge around Kennedy might be the strange straw that broke the camel’s back. On 4 August it emerged that Kennedy had found a dead bear cub on the side of the road, loaded it in the back of his car, taken a photo with the corpse, gone to do some falconing, had a steak dinner, then staged the decomposing bear’s death to look like a bicycle hit-and-run incident in a local park before heading to the airport.
“As soon as you start becoming a laughing stock in the public mind, you know you’re in trouble,” said Marjorie Hershey, professor emeritus of political science at Indiana University Bloomington. “And when the two most prominent things people think about when they think of RFK Jr is brain worms and dead bear cubs, you’re definitely in trouble.”
Read more at Theguardian.com
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