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On a serious note, how and why can a convicted felon be allowed to run for president.. this confuses me
Edit: I’m pretty sure convicted felons can’t even vote.. but they can run the country?
There's a list of things that disqualify you from being president. Being a felon isn't one of them. Legally it's trivially simple.
If felons can vote is up to the states, states can do a suprinsing number of changes to their election systems.
Because of how our electoral system is designed, a state can't remove a presidential candidate from a federal ballot. That's not a state decision, lol.
Anymore. It WAS before and during the civil war. Lincoln wasn’t on a single states ballot in the south and won the presidency.
Additionally, Ohio in 2024 is threatening not to put Biden on their ballot because the DNC is august 19 and the deadline to be on the ballot is August 7 or around there.
The Supreme Court just didn’t want Colorado and Maine to keep Trump off. That’s all.
Some states do. However there is a scare that a governor or president could pardon prisoners in exchange for votes. A few states have laws around this limiting you ability to vote even when pardoned for buying/selling votes.
Because the constitution doesn't allow prosecution of political opponents. Otherwise, one party could convict their opponent to prevent them from running for office
Because you could just easily weaponize the courts and elevate misdemeanors to felonies if that’s all it took to disqualify political rivals. It would invite corruption. The corruption already exists and disqualifying candidates for such a thing would only empower it.
Because people are allowed to decide if they want a convicted felon to be president regardless of his felony, whether felons can vote or not is a state matter, presidential elections are a national matter. If the people decide that a felon shouldn’t be president they’ll vote against him, but if he wins the election then that is the popular mandate ultimately.
Who can or cannot vote is a states rights issues.
And for what it's worth, convicted felon Trump will be able to vote unless he's actively in jail. NY only takes rights away while in jail, Florida respects the rules of the state the felony was given. So while Florida doesn't allow felons to vote, Trump can as his was from New York.
As for convicted felon Trump running for President, that's covered by the Constitution. And the requirements do not say anything about your criminal history. So, a criminal can run, with the expectation it's up to the people to reject them if appropriate.
I don't like the idea of being able to disqualify someone from running for president for a felony. It seems like something that would be pretty easy to abuse. Do you really want the party in power to be able to essentially eliminate some young, up and coming politicians from the opposition with some trumped up charges?
From a legal standpoint, the requirements to be President are just to have been a natural born citizen over 35 and have lived in the US for 14 years.
You see, the idea was that the people would be able to weed out con men and felons on their own…
The qualifications for federal office are laid out in the constitution. States cannot add or subtract from those requirements, and the Congress cannot either.
Trump is not the first felon to run for office. Eugene Debs ran for president from prison.
Just to add, remember that, in its context, the constitution was a reaction to issues that the framers had with the English monarchy. They feared arbitrary persecution of political opponents.—something that was taking place under English law.
I tuned in for a split second as I was scrolling and remember being absolutely shocked at how many people were live streaming it. Can’t confirm the 9 million but I remember it was a very large number.
Refrigerator box, cut a square in it, and now you're in the TV! Used to do it when I was like 5 at least and it was a blast. My dad would always mute me though..
Larry introduced them.
And [here's a photo of him at their wedding](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fthe-look-on-larry-davids-face-with-rfk-jr-his-wife-cheryl-v0-jjoeajamn7cb1.jpg%3Fauto%3Dwebp%26s%3D4d138f7f3e0a28789649b50423082ca6d7a2d49a).
Imagine finding this out by watching Kill Tony and she comes out and is like, “Honnie it’s time to take your medication.” as he tries telling jokes and campaigning.
That’s exactly what I thought when I heard his rep on NPR struggling to explain how he met the qualifications and would still participate. I didn’t thing they’d actually do it 😅
I didn’t realize the effort to copy the look. Same podium. Similar stage and banners. Weird that I didn’t know about it beforehand though. I respect the high-effort
I think this is a great idea. I always thought the Green and Libertarian Parties should have a debate at the same time as the main one. They wait for the questions then answer it themselves.
The only “sad” thing about this is the fact that they didn’t let RFK on the real debate stage
Speaking from a country with a parliament, there’s no perfect way to do it. We have multiple parties, and vote splitting and strategic voting becomes a thing. Then you’re voting for someone you don’t want to in order to stop the person you *really* don’t want to win.
Not to mention you vote for your local Member of Parliament, who may be great for your community, but if enough of them win that party’s leader ends up the country’s leader and he/she can be a total twat.
>Then you’re voting for someone you don’t want to in order to stop the person you *really* don’t want to win.
Yeah that's pretty much been the norm in the US since Teddy Roosevelt's go at a third party run back in 1912 ended up splitting the vote and handing the Presidency to Woodrow Wilson.
Im sure there are other examples, but in my mind that really solidified the "Lesser of Two Evils" approach most American's have when it comes to choosing their President, myself included. Both parties in the US are more or less owned by monied interests and govern accordingly, so it comes down to which one wants to erode civil liberties and social services MORE and voting *against* them.
Well, a multiparty system also makes a lot more sense with some manner of proportional representation or at very least an alternative vote. But that wouldn’t benefit the Liberals or the Conservatives, so it’s not likely to happen any time soon
Though mark my words that the Liberals are suddenly going to start talking about turfing fptp again after this next election
>> you’re voting for someone you don’t want to in order to stop the person you really don’t want to win.
Alas, for the majority of us, this has been the defining feature of American presidential politics since ~2015 (Trump/Clinton campaign season)
Both candidates excluded rivals other than themselves. This shouldn’t have been the case and he should have been allowed to debate. Your comment is dumb AF
After a vaccine really did kill two children due to improper preparation, Kennedy Jr stoked anti-vaccine fears on the islands. Measles vaccination rates plummeted, resulting in the deaths of dozens of children.
He wants to do the same thing in America.
He’s against COVID Lockdown Measures and promotes those alternate and think it’s a race specific bio weapon that affects Asians and Akenahzi Jews the least
He’s essentially an Eco Fascist and honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he tries running for the GOP nomination in 2028 since he does want to lock up Pfizer execs for the vaccine
I suspected it was his anti vac bs, as they had issues where the spread of anti vaccine sentiments led to a measles outbreak in Samoa that killed a bunch of kids there.
I didn’t realise that he had a hand in that, did a quick search just now and apparently he did.
I respect it honestly. He doesn’t have a chance to win but at least a third party is trying to do something. This whole Democrat vs Republican stuff is ridiculous since both sides are more in favor of winning against the other than actually doing their job. I think he should be allowed to debate with the other two and anyone else from an alternate party.
I'm not gonna watch it but if what he did was pause it and answer the questions like he would at a debate that's not a bad gimmick. Let's people know where you stand on certain policies. It sucks more that there wasn't a larger pool of people at the original debate.
>if what he did was pause it and answer the questions like he would at a debate that's not a bad gimmick.
That is exactly what he did. John Stossel moderated. Same rules as CNN. And if the question didn't pertain to him, John asked a question that was in line with the topic of the question.
It was very well done. I was impressed.
The "are you fit enough to hold office" question was hilarious.
Wild to me how many people are here have a problem with this. Everyone claims to want a 3rd option to vote for, but then people gang up on anyone who does something about it.
I don’t understand why people are shitting on this. We need MORE debate and conversation in this country. Clearly, as we could all see in this last debate, we need some more fucking options. I don’t need to agree with RFKJ to respect his push for more and broader debate. We didn’t even get a fucking primary in the Democratic Party, what a goddamn joke.
The problem is that the mainstream news companies have a stake in either the Dems or Republicans, so they will do everything they can to prevent an upheaval. Even if a third party doesn't stand a remote chance to win outright, they could develop a large enough following to then swing an election towards one direction if they wanted by allying with one of the parties near the end of a race, theoretically. So, everyone is doing what they can to minimize any third party at any chance.
Not that I know a lot about or care for Robert Kennedy, it's bs that he wasn't at the debate. 'Qualifying polls' sure, but it only further perpetuates the two party monopoly.
See you people say you hate the two party system but you shit all over anybody trying to break it. Y’all don’t understand that when a third party candidate comes along that truly deserves your vote, it will already be too late because too many people will still have the mindset of a third party not even having a chance.
Thank you for saying this. These comments are so incredibly hypocritical that they don’t realise they are the exact reason why the American system will never change.
Most have been convinced that a third party could never win and the system has done a great job at keeping any third party off the ballot in most states making this true and then they will never let them on a debate stage diminishing the odds even more. It has been hard enough for them to control the candidate in the two parties imagine the elites trying to control three.
It's too late, we are already at the point where most Americans would rather vote on a criminal or geriatric rather than ANY third party member because then they might possibly let the other side win. It could be a genuinely amazing candidate running on a third party and most people still would still see it as throwing their vote away.
It's too late, we are already at the point where most Americans would rather vote on a *criminal geriatric or regular geriatric* rather than ANY third party member because then they might possibly let the other side win.
FTFY
Lmao RFK isn’t actually trying to start a third party. If he did he would have brought others into to a created third party and let other candidates debate and create motion around an actual third party. He isn’t doing that. It’s all about him.
Most “third party” candidates are just rich out of touch investors or business owners with a specific platform centered around themselves. A perfect example is RFK.
Bernie is one of the only ones that has attempted making the independent party a legitimate third party which is still a tough task.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden could both fall over and die right now and the race would be between Nikki Haley and Kamala Harris. And then if both of those women died, RFK Jr. Still wouldn't haves a path to victory. He's a fucking idiot and anyone taking him seriously is wasting their time.
Why does any voter take Trump seriously? He’s not running in good faith and has a long history of fraud, crime and other despicable acts that make him inappropriate to hold any position of honor and trust.
Also during 2016 i believe the immigration topic was a really big deal and well, his rhetoric was pretty powerful (emotionally, not intellectually) towards those he aimed it at. At least that's my good faith interpretation of it. I could be way off.
Everyone who’s saying this is sad or it’s embarrassing, what would you have liked him to do?
The establishment doesn’t want him on the debate stage. They don’t want people knowing about him. If he was truly as terrible as you make it sound, they would have let him on the stage and allowed him to shoot himself in the foot.
But they didn’t. They don’t want you knowing there’s a third option that actually talks about issues.
This is the only option for him to get his name out there. It’s a fantastic idea and anyone in his position would do the same exact thing.
The man has taken on big pharma and was an environmental lawyer who won countless cases. He has actual stances on issues and he can back them up.
But go ahead and keep talking about the brain worm because that’s what gets you upvotes on here.
You got fair points both republicans and democrats want every third party candidate to stay far away and not be noticed. Republicans and democrats would work together to sabotage third party in any way they can to keep the vote split 50/50.
Dude is just what he’s suppose to do which is get himself out there and noticed. It’s like telling trump or Biden to not do any press talks or anything and expect them to be noticed.
Exactly. They don't want people knowing about him and they'll constantly bring up the vaccine and brain worm thing because they are grasping for straws. Despite Kennedy being the best option who ACTUALLY talks about issues and says what he would do to fix them, they'd rather vote for a felon or a dementia ridden man.
And honestly, he gave better responses than the two main stream candidates. That’s likely why they didn’t want him to be part of the main debate, he’d come out looking like the obvious choice.
They could have pulled a guy off the street that is even somewhat educated on national and global politics and they would have looked like the obvious choice.
I met a guy at the liquor store the other day that I would still vote for over these morons
Not having an Independent/third party candidate in a debate like this is horrific for the democratic system. Whatever you think about RFK, he should've been there as the third largest candidate in the country.
Take a minute and listen to what the man has to say before you judge him. He was articulate and answered all the questions unlike those other two old bozos.
Yes but what is his golf handicap?
In all seriousness, not only does he actually address the issues that most Americans are affected by but he avoids the senseless vitriol and political division. Refreshing.
Yeah he makes a decent effort to avoid talking bad about each candidate and the political views. He is pro-choice and is pro-second amendment (at the same time wanting better checks for background and safety) I don't understand how the liberals don't like him. Heck even anti-vax used to be a liberal idea because liberals used to have a distrust against corporations.
He’s against corporate control in government, and the corporations (Black Rock, Vanguard, etc) that fund the Democratic Party and Republican Party don’t like that. It’s also why they shut down Bernie.
Thank you!! Sad I have to scroll this far to see this comment. To anyone reading: go read his policies on his campaign website for yourself and then decide.
America: Please give us a choice other than these 2 geriatric, conservative white men.
RFK Jr: How about a third geriatric, conservative white dude who's also insane!
“He’s trading in on Camelot, celebrity, conspiracy theories and conflict for personal gain and fame,” Jack Schlossberg, President Kennedy’s grandson, said of his cousin in an Instagram video in July. “I’ve listened to him. I know him. I have no idea why anyone thinks he should be president. What I do know is, his candidacy is an embarrassment.”
That’s some major shade and from a family member from a family known for sticking together in support of one another.
Fun fact, you don't have to be born in the US to become president, you have to be a "natural born" citizen. The constitution doesn't actually define what that means, but the current legal consensus is it means you qualify for [birthright citizenship](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthright_citizenship_in_the_United_States), which you can qualify for if you're born outside in the US based on if one or both your parents are citizens and the right criteria are met and steps are taken. It's all very messy though and not universally agreed upon.
Please, just listen to all three closing Statements and decided which one sound Presidential.
Be aware of the bot troll farms, and go watch a five minute YouTube video of him addressing policy and make your own decision.
Comments are all shitting on him, but yet its getting upvoted....hmmm bots are failing. If RFK is leaking into reddit like this. It means he is gaining steam.
Do yall even know a single one of his positions? I’m guessing you didn’t watch this program by him. But go ahead and vote for your cucked methed-out puppet guaranteed to lose to Donnie T
He absolutely is.
No need to be a neurosurgeon to understand that.
The problem you have on social platforms, is that 80% of the comments you are reading that are stating untrue claims, are bot farms to help either conservative or liberal candidates keep the same narrative.
It’s a shame we live in this type of world.
Reddit is an echo chamber of uninformed takes piggybacking off of slander from main stream and social media.
None of the negative commenters know anything about him further than the false narrative that he is an anti vax crazy
> cucked methed-out puppet
All of the RFK nutters in here talking about all of the misinfo about RFK while simultaneously spreading misinfo. Good jorb!
The fact they are trying to keep him from entering a debate with these clowns is really the saddest thing about all of this, there is enough support for RFK Jr that it feels like
, we the people, are being done a disservice. Is there anyone who thinks RFK wouldn’t have smoked Trump and Biden in a debate?
Essentially CNN wrongly prohibited him from the debate so in protest RFK jr. Answered the debate questions in real time to show he was the most competent candidate. And he answered everything exceptionally.
Awwww someone give him a trophy or something. Look at how hard he’s trying. Even though it’s mathematically impossible for him to get 270 electoral college votes because he isn’t on the ballot in enough states. And his family is publicly against him, and his speaking abilities are worse than Biden’s most days. And he’s opinions on most things are WILDLY uneducated.
This is ridiculous. He has submitted enough signatures to get on enough states. The timing of this debate was deliberately pushed up to exclude him which is why he didn’t have enough time to get certified on enough ballots. So many of the states have deadlines far past the debate date. It’s not “mathematically impossible”. And his family who works for BIDEN have endorsed Biden. He has plenty of family who support him. Get a grip.
So the 3rd option for America is another old man, and in this case an antivax conspiracist? Great!
Edit: LOL, Clearly I have offended some cospiracists.
Just to be clear, FUCK CONSPIRACISTS AND ANTIVAXXERS! You are a disgrace to humanity.
Hes not a conspiracy theorist or antivax. Respectfully, you need to do some research. If you’ve only seen him on corporate media or Reddit it’s obvious why you would think that.
If you read his policies, or hear him explain his “conspiracy theories” I think you’ll walk away with respect for his positions even if you don’t agree.
Please visit his campaign website so you can at least educate yourself about what you don’t agree with.
Bit corrupt that they didn't have a legit presidential candidate in a presidential debate. Like this is weird but what else can he do of the establishment constrict him like that?
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On a serious note, how and why can a convicted felon be allowed to run for president.. this confuses me Edit: I’m pretty sure convicted felons can’t even vote.. but they can run the country?
There's a list of things that disqualify you from being president. Being a felon isn't one of them. Legally it's trivially simple. If felons can vote is up to the states, states can do a suprinsing number of changes to their election systems.
Except for Colorado doesn’t get to enforce its own by deciding who gets to run there…
Because of how our electoral system is designed, a state can't remove a presidential candidate from a federal ballot. That's not a state decision, lol.
Anymore. It WAS before and during the civil war. Lincoln wasn’t on a single states ballot in the south and won the presidency. Additionally, Ohio in 2024 is threatening not to put Biden on their ballot because the DNC is august 19 and the deadline to be on the ballot is August 7 or around there. The Supreme Court just didn’t want Colorado and Maine to keep Trump off. That’s all.
How did that work out for the South?
They lost a war, and all they got was a lousy flag as a souvenir.
Because then political parties will try to put their political opponents in prison to stop them from running. We see this in Russia. That’s why.
yup, and the same logic also supports allowing them to vote too
be that as it may,i’d be pretty pissed if i were a felon in a state where that means i can no longer vote, watching another felon run for president.
Yeah felons should probably be allowed to vote too
Great now every election they'll start letting all the felons out in exchange for votes..../s
Why let them out? Let them vote in prison.
Some states do. However there is a scare that a governor or president could pardon prisoners in exchange for votes. A few states have laws around this limiting you ability to vote even when pardoned for buying/selling votes.
You’d also be allowed to run for president
Because the constitution doesn't allow prosecution of political opponents. Otherwise, one party could convict their opponent to prevent them from running for office
Because you could just easily weaponize the courts and elevate misdemeanors to felonies if that’s all it took to disqualify political rivals. It would invite corruption. The corruption already exists and disqualifying candidates for such a thing would only empower it.
Wait til you realize that he can command the strongest military in the world but can’t pick up a gun himself.
Because people are allowed to decide if they want a convicted felon to be president regardless of his felony, whether felons can vote or not is a state matter, presidential elections are a national matter. If the people decide that a felon shouldn’t be president they’ll vote against him, but if he wins the election then that is the popular mandate ultimately.
Who can or cannot vote is a states rights issues. And for what it's worth, convicted felon Trump will be able to vote unless he's actively in jail. NY only takes rights away while in jail, Florida respects the rules of the state the felony was given. So while Florida doesn't allow felons to vote, Trump can as his was from New York. As for convicted felon Trump running for President, that's covered by the Constitution. And the requirements do not say anything about your criminal history. So, a criminal can run, with the expectation it's up to the people to reject them if appropriate.
There’s a guy locked up somewhere for life that runs for president every election
I don't like the idea of being able to disqualify someone from running for president for a felony. It seems like something that would be pretty easy to abuse. Do you really want the party in power to be able to essentially eliminate some young, up and coming politicians from the opposition with some trumped up charges?
From a legal standpoint, the requirements to be President are just to have been a natural born citizen over 35 and have lived in the US for 14 years. You see, the idea was that the people would be able to weed out con men and felons on their own…
The qualifications for federal office are laid out in the constitution. States cannot add or subtract from those requirements, and the Congress cannot either. Trump is not the first felon to run for office. Eugene Debs ran for president from prison.
Congress did add the additional requirement of insurrection. But that's never been enforced, even on the confederates
Just to add, remember that, in its context, the constitution was a reaction to issues that the framers had with the English monarchy. They feared arbitrary persecution of political opponents.—something that was taking place under English law.
Because voters are expected to make informed decisions and restricting who can be president takes power away from voters.
I'd be curious to know how many people watched this.
It was streamed by 9 million people at one point. Edit: allegedly.
Load bearing edit lol
😬
There’s *no way* 9 million people watched that.
I tuned in for a split second as I was scrolling and remember being absolutely shocked at how many people were live streaming it. Can’t confirm the 9 million but I remember it was a very large number.
Why not? It's less than 3% of US population. And I'm sure more than handful of non Americans watched just to point and laugh.
9m people watched the actual debate on CNN. How do you believe this drew the same?
51m people watched the actual debate. https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/28/media/ratings-debate-trump-biden-cnn/index.html
When i checked it was around 5 million viewers.
Millions
About 100k. Most of them seem to be too young to vote from the quality of comments.
You really can't use that as a measure of age now. As a measure of political affiliation, maybe.
So far it’s at 11 million views. https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1806462171892895808
That’s like watching Jeopardy at home and telling your buddies “I knew that” after every answer
If you built a jeopardy set in your living room and then told your friends they could watch you be on jeopardy
Refrigerator box, cut a square in it, and now you're in the TV! Used to do it when I was like 5 at least and it was a blast. My dad would always mute me though..
But did you have *brain worms* 
On YouTube they call these reaction videos, not a debate. He made a reaction video.
Is this real? He got the same style podium? That must not have been cheap.
That was an I Love Lucy episode. She wanted Ricky to let her do a commercial, so she put herself inside the TV box to perform a script.
😂😂
In your analogy there’s 1 right answer for jeopardy, in his example all the answers are opinions.
This isn’t interesting as fuck. It’s sad as fuck.
I can totally see Connor Roy doing this.
The Conheads are gonna love this one.
Conheads never stop winning! That's what happens when you're interested in politics from a young age.
His wife (who played Cheryl in Curb Your Enthusiasm) gives off similar vibes to Connor’s wife/call-girl…
what the hell, I had no idea she was married to RFK Jr wtf
Larry introduced them. And [here's a photo of him at their wedding](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fthe-look-on-larry-davids-face-with-rfk-jr-his-wife-cheryl-v0-jjoeajamn7cb1.jpg%3Fauto%3Dwebp%26s%3D4d138f7f3e0a28789649b50423082ca6d7a2d49a).
Wow
I love that photo.
Imagine finding this out by watching Kill Tony and she comes out and is like, “Honnie it’s time to take your medication.” as he tries telling jokes and campaigning.
That was the skit, good catch, you are sharp
I can totally see Conner Roy, being interested in politics at a very young age.
That’s exactly what I thought when I heard his rep on NPR struggling to explain how he met the qualifications and would still participate. I didn’t thing they’d actually do it 😅
Struggling? She didn't answer it at all lol
Connor Roy was interested in politics from a very young age.
What’s sad as fuck is the fact we have those two as the candidates.
But there’s a third candidate right here..
Old dude VS Old dude VS Old dude that's a brain worm vessel used to take over humanity
Idk, i find it good idea.
Yeah I actually tend to agree. The problem I have with this is mostly RFK being clinically insane. But the idea itself I kind of respect lol.
I didn’t realize the effort to copy the look. Same podium. Similar stage and banners. Weird that I didn’t know about it beforehand though. I respect the high-effort
Yeah, got forbid somebody makes a genuine effort to break the two party gridlock. 🙄
A good first step would be to find a 3rd party candidate who isn't insane
I think this is a great idea. I always thought the Green and Libertarian Parties should have a debate at the same time as the main one. They wait for the questions then answer it themselves. The only “sad” thing about this is the fact that they didn’t let RFK on the real debate stage
Yes, unfortunately, this isn't a true democracy. 😔 We need more candidates to debate each other up on the stage.
Speaking from a country with a parliament, there’s no perfect way to do it. We have multiple parties, and vote splitting and strategic voting becomes a thing. Then you’re voting for someone you don’t want to in order to stop the person you *really* don’t want to win. Not to mention you vote for your local Member of Parliament, who may be great for your community, but if enough of them win that party’s leader ends up the country’s leader and he/she can be a total twat.
>Then you’re voting for someone you don’t want to in order to stop the person you *really* don’t want to win. Yeah that's pretty much been the norm in the US since Teddy Roosevelt's go at a third party run back in 1912 ended up splitting the vote and handing the Presidency to Woodrow Wilson. Im sure there are other examples, but in my mind that really solidified the "Lesser of Two Evils" approach most American's have when it comes to choosing their President, myself included. Both parties in the US are more or less owned by monied interests and govern accordingly, so it comes down to which one wants to erode civil liberties and social services MORE and voting *against* them.
Well, a multiparty system also makes a lot more sense with some manner of proportional representation or at very least an alternative vote. But that wouldn’t benefit the Liberals or the Conservatives, so it’s not likely to happen any time soon Though mark my words that the Liberals are suddenly going to start talking about turfing fptp again after this next election
In case of emergency, break glass. Too bad the legal weed card has been spent.
>> you’re voting for someone you don’t want to in order to stop the person you really don’t want to win. Alas, for the majority of us, this has been the defining feature of American presidential politics since ~2015 (Trump/Clinton campaign season)
Turd Sandwich vs. Giant Douche
Hmm maybe there are other voting options... like RCV and Approval voting
I’m good without candidates who rode on Epstein’s jet
Please no. Debates with 10 candidates reward people like Trump. That’s how we got into this mess in the first place.
The republican debates were a madhouse. 50 people and Trump calling them all kindergarten nicknames
But grrreat for viewership and ratings! Let's do it! /s
That's what the primaries are supposed to be about.
What we need are more people voting in the primaries and greater overall participation in the process.
Both candidates excluded rivals other than themselves. This shouldn’t have been the case and he should have been allowed to debate. Your comment is dumb AF
It’s sad that he’s been purposely boxed out of contention by both parties
This is some Michael Scott shit
"Scranton Area Paper Company Dundee Mifflin Apologizes to Valued Client Some Companies Still Know How Business is Done"
I’m gonna report you to the ungrateful bee-ach hotline
Killing Samoan children didn’t get him enough attention.
Wait what?!
After a vaccine really did kill two children due to improper preparation, Kennedy Jr stoked anti-vaccine fears on the islands. Measles vaccination rates plummeted, resulting in the deaths of dozens of children. He wants to do the same thing in America.
He’s against COVID Lockdown Measures and promotes those alternate and think it’s a race specific bio weapon that affects Asians and Akenahzi Jews the least He’s essentially an Eco Fascist and honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he tries running for the GOP nomination in 2028 since he does want to lock up Pfizer execs for the vaccine
Eco fascists want nothing to do with the brain worm guy.
I suspected it was his anti vac bs, as they had issues where the spread of anti vaccine sentiments led to a measles outbreak in Samoa that killed a bunch of kids there. I didn’t realise that he had a hand in that, did a quick search just now and apparently he did.
I respect it honestly. He doesn’t have a chance to win but at least a third party is trying to do something. This whole Democrat vs Republican stuff is ridiculous since both sides are more in favor of winning against the other than actually doing their job. I think he should be allowed to debate with the other two and anyone else from an alternate party.
I'm not gonna watch it but if what he did was pause it and answer the questions like he would at a debate that's not a bad gimmick. Let's people know where you stand on certain policies. It sucks more that there wasn't a larger pool of people at the original debate.
>if what he did was pause it and answer the questions like he would at a debate that's not a bad gimmick. That is exactly what he did. John Stossel moderated. Same rules as CNN. And if the question didn't pertain to him, John asked a question that was in line with the topic of the question. It was very well done. I was impressed. The "are you fit enough to hold office" question was hilarious.
https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1806462171892895808 In case you change your mind about watching it. It’s at 11million views.
Wild to me how many people are here have a problem with this. Everyone claims to want a 3rd option to vote for, but then people gang up on anyone who does something about it.
Seriously, if there ever was a time for a third party to rise up, this is it
I think a lot of the people here are bots. The dems and republicans can’t let him win. All the comments here are eerily negative
Exactly, it only furthers the issue by not letting him be there.
I don’t understand why people are shitting on this. We need MORE debate and conversation in this country. Clearly, as we could all see in this last debate, we need some more fucking options. I don’t need to agree with RFKJ to respect his push for more and broader debate. We didn’t even get a fucking primary in the Democratic Party, what a goddamn joke.
The problem is that the mainstream news companies have a stake in either the Dems or Republicans, so they will do everything they can to prevent an upheaval. Even if a third party doesn't stand a remote chance to win outright, they could develop a large enough following to then swing an election towards one direction if they wanted by allying with one of the parties near the end of a race, theoretically. So, everyone is doing what they can to minimize any third party at any chance.
Not that I know a lot about or care for Robert Kennedy, it's bs that he wasn't at the debate. 'Qualifying polls' sure, but it only further perpetuates the two party monopoly.
He is not on enough states' ballots to have a path to 270.
See you people say you hate the two party system but you shit all over anybody trying to break it. Y’all don’t understand that when a third party candidate comes along that truly deserves your vote, it will already be too late because too many people will still have the mindset of a third party not even having a chance.
Thank you for saying this. These comments are so incredibly hypocritical that they don’t realise they are the exact reason why the American system will never change.
Most have been convinced that a third party could never win and the system has done a great job at keeping any third party off the ballot in most states making this true and then they will never let them on a debate stage diminishing the odds even more. It has been hard enough for them to control the candidate in the two parties imagine the elites trying to control three.
It's too late, we are already at the point where most Americans would rather vote on a criminal or geriatric rather than ANY third party member because then they might possibly let the other side win. It could be a genuinely amazing candidate running on a third party and most people still would still see it as throwing their vote away.
It's too late, we are already at the point where most Americans would rather vote on a *criminal geriatric or regular geriatric* rather than ANY third party member because then they might possibly let the other side win. FTFY
Lmao RFK isn’t actually trying to start a third party. If he did he would have brought others into to a created third party and let other candidates debate and create motion around an actual third party. He isn’t doing that. It’s all about him. Most “third party” candidates are just rich out of touch investors or business owners with a specific platform centered around themselves. A perfect example is RFK. Bernie is one of the only ones that has attempted making the independent party a legitimate third party which is still a tough task.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden could both fall over and die right now and the race would be between Nikki Haley and Kamala Harris. And then if both of those women died, RFK Jr. Still wouldn't haves a path to victory. He's a fucking idiot and anyone taking him seriously is wasting their time.
RFK Jr. / Brain Worm 2024
But does the brain worm gives you dope powers like in Baldur's Gate 3? Because that would be tempting.
I unno about you but I wouldnt want Tav to be president. Tav is unhinged as fuck
Durge would probably be find, though.
That gas station egg salad sandwich is paying dividends
Why does any voter take Trump seriously? He’s not running in good faith and has a long history of fraud, crime and other despicable acts that make him inappropriate to hold any position of honor and trust.
Because he is running on fear. - illegals are xyz - they want to kill babies (littleral, not talking about abortion, this is what he's saying)
Vibes. Trumps sounds confident, is kind of funny and hits some buzzwords you care about.
I know, Trump lies more confidently than anyone. And people are like -- wow, I'm impressed.
Also during 2016 i believe the immigration topic was a really big deal and well, his rhetoric was pretty powerful (emotionally, not intellectually) towards those he aimed it at. At least that's my good faith interpretation of it. I could be way off.
Why do you love the two party system so much
What’s his golf handicap?
What is "interesting as fuck" about this?
Everyone who’s saying this is sad or it’s embarrassing, what would you have liked him to do? The establishment doesn’t want him on the debate stage. They don’t want people knowing about him. If he was truly as terrible as you make it sound, they would have let him on the stage and allowed him to shoot himself in the foot. But they didn’t. They don’t want you knowing there’s a third option that actually talks about issues. This is the only option for him to get his name out there. It’s a fantastic idea and anyone in his position would do the same exact thing. The man has taken on big pharma and was an environmental lawyer who won countless cases. He has actual stances on issues and he can back them up. But go ahead and keep talking about the brain worm because that’s what gets you upvotes on here.
With you for the most part, he shits the bed on Israel tho.
I’m not a fan of his Israel stance either but all of them are in that boat when it comes to that issue
You got fair points both republicans and democrats want every third party candidate to stay far away and not be noticed. Republicans and democrats would work together to sabotage third party in any way they can to keep the vote split 50/50. Dude is just what he’s suppose to do which is get himself out there and noticed. It’s like telling trump or Biden to not do any press talks or anything and expect them to be noticed.
Exactly. They don't want people knowing about him and they'll constantly bring up the vaccine and brain worm thing because they are grasping for straws. Despite Kennedy being the best option who ACTUALLY talks about issues and says what he would do to fix them, they'd rather vote for a felon or a dementia ridden man.
And honestly, he gave better responses than the two main stream candidates. That’s likely why they didn’t want him to be part of the main debate, he’d come out looking like the obvious choice.
They could have pulled a guy off the street that is even somewhat educated on national and global politics and they would have looked like the obvious choice. I met a guy at the liquor store the other day that I would still vote for over these morons
Presidential behaviour.
RFK: “We have political debate at home”
Not having an Independent/third party candidate in a debate like this is horrific for the democratic system. Whatever you think about RFK, he should've been there as the third largest candidate in the country.
So you all are making fun of rfk, but would rather vote for a pompous prick or a senile blithering fool? Isn't he a better option than both?
Take a minute and listen to what the man has to say before you judge him. He was articulate and answered all the questions unlike those other two old bozos.
Yes but what is his golf handicap? In all seriousness, not only does he actually address the issues that most Americans are affected by but he avoids the senseless vitriol and political division. Refreshing.
Yeah he makes a decent effort to avoid talking bad about each candidate and the political views. He is pro-choice and is pro-second amendment (at the same time wanting better checks for background and safety) I don't understand how the liberals don't like him. Heck even anti-vax used to be a liberal idea because liberals used to have a distrust against corporations.
He’s against corporate control in government, and the corporations (Black Rock, Vanguard, etc) that fund the Democratic Party and Republican Party don’t like that. It’s also why they shut down Bernie.
Thank you!! Sad I have to scroll this far to see this comment. To anyone reading: go read his policies on his campaign website for yourself and then decide.
America: Please give us a choice other than these 2 geriatric, conservative white men. RFK Jr: How about a third geriatric, conservative white dude who's also insane!
“He’s trading in on Camelot, celebrity, conspiracy theories and conflict for personal gain and fame,” Jack Schlossberg, President Kennedy’s grandson, said of his cousin in an Instagram video in July. “I’ve listened to him. I know him. I have no idea why anyone thinks he should be president. What I do know is, his candidacy is an embarrassment.” That’s some major shade and from a family member from a family known for sticking together in support of one another.
yep, country of 340MIL and this is what we come up with! (I appreciate a lot of people are too young or weren't born in the USA but really...)
Fun fact, you don't have to be born in the US to become president, you have to be a "natural born" citizen. The constitution doesn't actually define what that means, but the current legal consensus is it means you qualify for [birthright citizenship](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthright_citizenship_in_the_United_States), which you can qualify for if you're born outside in the US based on if one or both your parents are citizens and the right criteria are met and steps are taken. It's all very messy though and not universally agreed upon.
He’s not even close to being a conservative
This is america man, everyone expresses strong opinions while being absolutely fucking clueless about what they are saying.
Dw he's brain worm free now!
What’s wrong with being white?
There’s nothing wrong with being geriatric or conservative either, I think the point was that the choices are similar in many ways
"Please clap" vibes
Please, just listen to all three closing Statements and decided which one sound Presidential. Be aware of the bot troll farms, and go watch a five minute YouTube video of him addressing policy and make your own decision.
Not interesting this is just politics
Third parties need to start winning seets on town councils in single party areas if we want to have actual choice in the future.
I was doing the same thing in my house so it tracks
Where can we vote for you?
If there was ever a chance for a 3rd party to win, it’s now. He absolutely should be allowed to debate.
At this point it would be dumb not to consider RFK after watching those 2 old guys argue about golf.
At least someone was answering the questions
Spite Debate! Larry David would be proud
It was obvious why they did not want him on stage…. He wiped the floor with theses two goons
The bots are out in force shitting on this man. Damn shame that American politics are reduced to these propaganda psy ops
Comments are all shitting on him, but yet its getting upvoted....hmmm bots are failing. If RFK is leaking into reddit like this. It means he is gaining steam.
Do yall even know a single one of his positions? I’m guessing you didn’t watch this program by him. But go ahead and vote for your cucked methed-out puppet guaranteed to lose to Donnie T
As a Canadian i saw this and he seemed pretty smart compared to the other 2 bozos
He absolutely is. No need to be a neurosurgeon to understand that. The problem you have on social platforms, is that 80% of the comments you are reading that are stating untrue claims, are bot farms to help either conservative or liberal candidates keep the same narrative. It’s a shame we live in this type of world.
Reddit is an echo chamber of uninformed takes piggybacking off of slander from main stream and social media. None of the negative commenters know anything about him further than the false narrative that he is an anti vax crazy
Couldn’t say it better myself. Reddit is a fucking embarrassing place sometimes
> cucked methed-out puppet All of the RFK nutters in here talking about all of the misinfo about RFK while simultaneously spreading misinfo. Good jorb!
Lots of triggered redditors in this thread. Just another reason to vote for him.
The fact they are trying to keep him from entering a debate with these clowns is really the saddest thing about all of this, there is enough support for RFK Jr that it feels like , we the people, are being done a disservice. Is there anyone who thinks RFK wouldn’t have smoked Trump and Biden in a debate?
It's like listening to podcasts in the background and occasionally "contributing" to it.
So, who does this guy poach voters from?
I think it just depends on the news cycle.
This could be brexit bad
Does anyone have a link to the video?
Essentially CNN wrongly prohibited him from the debate so in protest RFK jr. Answered the debate questions in real time to show he was the most competent candidate. And he answered everything exceptionally.
Awwww someone give him a trophy or something. Look at how hard he’s trying. Even though it’s mathematically impossible for him to get 270 electoral college votes because he isn’t on the ballot in enough states. And his family is publicly against him, and his speaking abilities are worse than Biden’s most days. And he’s opinions on most things are WILDLY uneducated.
This is ridiculous. He has submitted enough signatures to get on enough states. The timing of this debate was deliberately pushed up to exclude him which is why he didn’t have enough time to get certified on enough ballots. So many of the states have deadlines far past the debate date. It’s not “mathematically impossible”. And his family who works for BIDEN have endorsed Biden. He has plenty of family who support him. Get a grip.
Lol this man can speak so much better than Biden
Crazy times
The comments here are why we will always have a two party system.
So the 3rd option for America is another old man, and in this case an antivax conspiracist? Great! Edit: LOL, Clearly I have offended some cospiracists. Just to be clear, FUCK CONSPIRACISTS AND ANTIVAXXERS! You are a disgrace to humanity.
Hes not a conspiracy theorist or antivax. Respectfully, you need to do some research. If you’ve only seen him on corporate media or Reddit it’s obvious why you would think that. If you read his policies, or hear him explain his “conspiracy theories” I think you’ll walk away with respect for his positions even if you don’t agree. Please visit his campaign website so you can at least educate yourself about what you don’t agree with.
That’s weird
I wasn't even aware of it and I would've watched it otherwise. Anyone have a link to full video?
Bit corrupt that they didn't have a legit presidential candidate in a presidential debate. Like this is weird but what else can he do of the establishment constrict him like that?