Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the contest for the White House is a "two-man race" and that only he can beat Donald Trump after President Biden's shocking withdrawal from a second-term bid.
Speaking Sunday at a hastily called press conference from his family's storied compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, Kennedy praised Biden while simultaneously blaming Democratic Party leaders for "hiding" his mental decline.
"I want to begin by commending President Biden for a career in public service: a long, long career and representing and serving our country and for his handling of the many difficulties and challenges, personal challenges and tragedies that he suffered during his life with so much admirable conduct and the empathy that he derives from those experiences," Kennedy said.
Kennedy, who left the party his family once ruled after it blocked his bid to challenge Biden in primaries, said the Democratic National Committee created a mess by covering for Biden.
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"The reaction of the DNC to that obvious condition was to hide it from the American public and to use their power over the Democratic Party nomination process to make sure that nobody could compete with President Biden in a way that would expose his deficiencies," Kennedy argued.
Kennedy continued his campaign as an independent, and he has reached double-digits in some polls on a platform that decries "corporate capture," the affordability crisis, and "forever wars," according to his campaign website.
Kennedy also called out former President Trump as well as Vice President Harris, who appears poised to head the Democrat ticket.
"President Trump has a connection to the American people, a populist connection," said Kennedy. "But in many ways, it's the same fraudulent connection that we saw with the DNC over the past year, concealing a real purpose of their objective, which was to give us a president that … represents corporate interests rather than the interests of the American public."
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"If the Democrats do what I suspect they're going to do, which is to anoint Kamala Harris, a vice president who is monumentally unpopular within her own party … they're doing it because it's the easiest way to hold on to the money," Kennedy said.
Kennedy said he would consider accepting the Democrat nomination if were it offered to him.
"I would certainly listen to the party elders if they came to me, I would discuss something with them," said Kennedy. "I'm the only presidential candidate who can beat Donald Trump, and if I were them, I would do that, and I would certainly listen to their proposals."
"I wouldn't be the front-runner, because by the time I left the Democratic Party, it was really clear that, and this is the only reason I left that day, that the rules have been rigged to prevent me from winning," Kennedy said. "So, I would be in the same position as [presidential candidates] Dean Phillips today or Marianne Williamson, which is, you know, sidelined."
Kennedy added, "I am very content running where I am, and I believe I can win this election. I believe at this point it's a two-man race or two-person race. Let me put it that way. And, you know, and that I'm in the best position to win."
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A Fox News Poll from July showed Kennedy receiving 10% of the general electoral vote in a three-way race with Trump and Biden.
