"I'm 72 years old, and for 70 years of my life I would have bet any amount of money that I would not be addressing a Republican convention."
minute read
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a blistering indictment of his former political party at the RNC's midterm convention in Dallas, telling delegates that his father and uncle would not recognize today's Democratic Party and contrasting President Donald Trump's willingness to meet with him with Kamala Harris' refusal to even take his call.
Kennedy opened by acknowledging the unlikely setting for a member of America's most famous Democratic political dynasty. "I'm 72 years old, and for 70 years of my life I would have bet any amount of money that I would not be addressing a Republican convention," Kennedy said.
Kennedy recalled attending his first Democratic convention in 1960 at six years old and later speaking at several as a keynote speaker. He described growing up in the Democratic Party of Franklin D. Roosevelt, his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, and his father, Robert F. Kennedy.
"Ours was a party of strong principles, of clear policies and an inspiring idealistic vision for America," Kennedy said, pointing to JFK's support for tax cuts, a strong national defense and opposition to communism.
He said the party of his youth championed working Americans, free speech, individual rights, meritocracy, competition and skepticism of centralized government and corporate power.
Kennedy also highlighted his family's support for Israel, saying Democrats like his father and uncle "stood with Israel as the bulwark of democracy" and viewed the Jewish state as "a beacon for press and religious freedoms" and a haven for gays, women, and ethnic and religious minorities in a region plagued by intolerance, misogyny, child marriage, slavery and religious and ethnic persecution.
"They saw Israel as America's most critical frontline ally in fighting the toxic ideology of Islamism," Kennedy said, arguing that the ideology represents an existential threat to the United States and Western liberal democracy. Kennedy said Islamism had "subjugated and impoverished and tyrannized and tortured the people of Palestine and the people of Iran," adding, "They openly promised to do the same to us."
Kennedy argued that Democrats have since abandoned the principles that once defined the party, particularly during the COVID era. "A Democratic Party, in short, lost its way," Kennedy told the crowd. "I mourn the fact that neither my father nor my uncle would recognize the Democratic Party of today."
Kennedy said his eventual political realignment was not simply a question of traditional partisan politics. "It struck me this was no longer about left and right," he said. "It was about sane and insane. It was about common sense and communism."
Kennedy recounted launching his Democratic presidential campaign in April 2023 in hopes of pulling the party back toward what he considered its traditional principles. He accused Democratic officials of instead attempting to prevent voters from choosing alternatives to then-President Joe Biden.
Kennedy slammed Democrats for using the courts to keep political opponents away from voters, noting that he was sued in 12 states in efforts to remove him from ballots where he said he had legally qualified. But after he endorsed Trump and attempted to withdraw his name so his supporters could vote for the Republican nominee, Kennedy said Democrats reversed course. "After I endorsed President Trump and I tried to remove myself from the ballot so that he could have my votes, they sued me to keep me on the ballot," Kennedy said.
He also pointed to the Democratic Party's handling of the 2024 presidential nomination. "No voter ever cast a primary ballot for Kamala Harris," Kennedy said. "A party of no kings simply anointed a queen."
But Kennedy said his relationship with Trump took a dramatically different course. Kennedy recalled that after Trump was shot during the July 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump contacted him within hours and asked to meet. "Within three hours of his shooting, he called me and asked me for a meeting," Kennedy said.
Kennedy told the convention that their subsequent conversations shattered his perception of Trump. "I realized that everything that I heard about President Trump, everything I believed about him from the mainstream media was a lie. Everything," Kennedy said.
He described Trump as a man of "superior intelligence," "empathy and compassion" who possessed "a near-reckless courage" to challenge entrenched interests. The two discussed lowering drug prices, supporting farmers and ranchers, restoring law and order, eliminating corporate influence over federal regulatory agencies, restoring what Kennedy called "gold standard science," combating government waste and addressing chronic disease.
"These conversations changed the course of my campaign and my life," Kennedy said. "I realized that many of the foundational values of the Democratic Party, I found a new home, and it was called the Republican Party."
Kennedy then delivered perhaps the speech's starkest comparison between Trump and Harris. "Out of his sense of fairness, after my conversation with President Trump, I tried to have the same conversation with Kamala Harris," Kennedy said.
"You think she would agree to meet with me?" he asked as the audience reacted. "Did she even pick up the telephone? No, no."
Kennedy suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump on Aug. 23, 2024. He credited Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk with playing an "indispensable role" in bringing the two men together and paid tribute to Kirk on the first anniversary of his assassination.
Kennedy said Democratic friends subsequently warned him that trusting Trump was a mistake. He told the convention they were wrong. "President Trump has kept every single promise that he made to me without exception," Kennedy said.
Kennedy, who now serves in Trump's Cabinet as secretary of Health and Human Services, said he was grateful to the president for bringing him into the administration and allowing him to participate in what he called an "extraordinary revolution."
"We're working to restore American democracy and restore the America that my uncle and father believed in," Kennedy said, before urging voters to elect a Republican Congress to continue the administration's agenda.
Kennedy opened by acknowledging the unlikely setting for a member of America's most famous Democratic political dynasty. "I'm 72 years old, and for 70 years of my life I would have bet any amount of money that I would not be addressing a Republican convention," Kennedy said.
Kennedy recalled attending his first Democratic convention in 1960 at six years old and later speaking at several as a keynote speaker. He described growing up in the Democratic Party of Franklin D. Roosevelt, his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, and his father, Robert F. Kennedy.
"Ours was a party of strong principles, of clear policies and an inspiring idealistic vision for America," Kennedy said, pointing to JFK's support for tax cuts, a strong national defense and opposition to communism.
He said the party of his youth championed working Americans, free speech, individual rights, meritocracy, competition and skepticism of centralized government and corporate power.
Kennedy also highlighted his family's support for Israel, saying Democrats like his father and uncle "stood with Israel as the bulwark of democracy" and viewed the Jewish state as "a beacon for press and religious freedoms" and a haven for gays, women, and ethnic and religious minorities in a region plagued by intolerance, misogyny, child marriage, slavery and religious and ethnic persecution.
"They saw Israel as America's most critical frontline ally in fighting the toxic ideology of Islamism," Kennedy said, arguing that the ideology represents an existential threat to the United States and Western liberal democracy. Kennedy said Islamism had "subjugated and impoverished and tyrannized and tortured the people of Palestine and the people of Iran," adding, "They openly promised to do the same to us."
Kennedy argued that Democrats have since abandoned the principles that once defined the party, particularly during the COVID era. "A Democratic Party, in short, lost its way," Kennedy told the crowd. "I mourn the fact that neither my father nor my uncle would recognize the Democratic Party of today."
Kennedy said his eventual political realignment was not simply a question of traditional partisan politics. "It struck me this was no longer about left and right," he said. "It was about sane and insane. It was about common sense and communism."
Kennedy recounted launching his Democratic presidential campaign in April 2023 in hopes of pulling the party back toward what he considered its traditional principles. He accused Democratic officials of instead attempting to prevent voters from choosing alternatives to then-President Joe Biden.
Kennedy slammed Democrats for using the courts to keep political opponents away from voters, noting that he was sued in 12 states in efforts to remove him from ballots where he said he had legally qualified. But after he endorsed Trump and attempted to withdraw his name so his supporters could vote for the Republican nominee, Kennedy said Democrats reversed course. "After I endorsed President Trump and I tried to remove myself from the ballot so that he could have my votes, they sued me to keep me on the ballot," Kennedy said.
He also pointed to the Democratic Party's handling of the 2024 presidential nomination. "No voter ever cast a primary ballot for Kamala Harris," Kennedy said. "A party of no kings simply anointed a queen."
But Kennedy said his relationship with Trump took a dramatically different course. Kennedy recalled that after Trump was shot during the July 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump contacted him within hours and asked to meet. "Within three hours of his shooting, he called me and asked me for a meeting," Kennedy said.
Kennedy told the convention that their subsequent conversations shattered his perception of Trump. "I realized that everything that I heard about President Trump, everything I believed about him from the mainstream media was a lie. Everything," Kennedy said.
He described Trump as a man of "superior intelligence," "empathy and compassion" who possessed "a near-reckless courage" to challenge entrenched interests. The two discussed lowering drug prices, supporting farmers and ranchers, restoring law and order, eliminating corporate influence over federal regulatory agencies, restoring what Kennedy called "gold standard science," combating government waste and addressing chronic disease.
"These conversations changed the course of my campaign and my life," Kennedy said. "I realized that many of the foundational values of the Democratic Party, I found a new home, and it was called the Republican Party."
Kennedy then delivered perhaps the speech's starkest comparison between Trump and Harris. "Out of his sense of fairness, after my conversation with President Trump, I tried to have the same conversation with Kamala Harris," Kennedy said.
"You think she would agree to meet with me?" he asked as the audience reacted. "Did she even pick up the telephone? No, no."
Kennedy suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump on Aug. 23, 2024. He credited Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk with playing an "indispensable role" in bringing the two men together and paid tribute to Kirk on the first anniversary of his assassination.
Kennedy said Democratic friends subsequently warned him that trusting Trump was a mistake. He told the convention they were wrong. "President Trump has kept every single promise that he made to me without exception," Kennedy said.
Kennedy, who now serves in Trump's Cabinet as secretary of Health and Human Services, said he was grateful to the president for bringing him into the administration and allowing him to participate in what he called an "extraordinary revolution."
"We're working to restore American democracy and restore the America that my uncle and father believed in," Kennedy said, before urging voters to elect a Republican Congress to continue the administration's agenda.
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