Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr. blasted the “monolithic media” Friday, accusing major outlets of denying him the ability to appear on the air to reach voters.
“My challenge is to persuade Americans that I can win,” Kennedy said in an interview with Fox’s Neil Cavuto Friday. “I’ve got the entire media, kind of this monolithic media, that is aligned with the DNC telling Americans every single day that I can’t win.”
He said in the interview that he has only had a few interviews on the major networks like ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, CNN and MSNBC. Kennedy added that only Fox News has consistently given him airtime.
“Ross Perot was on TV every single night,” the long-shot candidate said, referring to the independent candidate who challenged former Presidents Clinton and George H.W. Bush in 1992. “We didn’t have that kind of alignment with the political parties that we now have. And it makes it, it does make it very difficult.”
He added, "This sort of beast did not exist before."
Kennedy has faced a slew of negative headlines in recent months, including reports of sexual misconduct, stories around his decision to dump a dead bear cub in New York’s Central Park, a Vanity Fair story showing him next to what the magazine suggests is a dog and an article in The New York Times reporting that a parasitic worm ate part of his brain.
After each of these stories, Kennedy has turned to attacking the media for unfair coverage.
“We thought it would be amusing for whoever found it,” Kennedy said in a video responding to the bear cub story. “Looking forward to seeing how you spin this one, @NewYorker.”
“Maybe that’s where I got my brain worm,” he further quipped.
These stories have led to a dip in his favorability and support. Prior to President Biden dropping out of the race in July, Kennedy had a comfortable double-digit showing in most polls.
However, a CBS poll of Kennedy, Vice President Harris, former President Trump and other third-party candidates — like Jill Stein, Cornel West and Chase Oliver — showed Kennedy receiving only 2 percent of support.
A recent survey from the Wall Street Journal found that he had 4 percent support among sample registered voters.
Prior to Biden ending his candidacy and endorsing Harris to run in his place, Democrats were concerned that Kennedy was pulling support from the ticket. However, since Harris has taken over, polling has suggested that Kennedy is taking more support from Trump.
According to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ's national polling index, Trump is ahead by 0.2 points in a head-to-head match with Harris. However, when Kennedy is factored in, Harris leads by about 3 points.
Kennedy has been criticizing the media for their coverage of him for much of his candidacy, including during the Democratic primary. During the primary race, before he changed to independent, he told Fox that the corporate media was treating him “more unfairly” than Trump.
“It’s interesting to me, because I have been really slammed in a way that I think is unprecedented, even more than President Trump was slammed by the mainstream, by the corporate media,” Kennedy said.
Currently, The Hill/DDHQ national polling shows Kennedy with 3.4 percent support.
