Independent US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he believes US President Joe Biden poses a greater threat to democracy than former President Donald Trump because the Biden administration censors misinformation on social media platforms.
Appearing on CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday night, Kennedy argued that the Biden administration violated the First Amendment to the US Constitution (the clause of the Constitution that guarantees freedom of thought and expression) by asking social media companies to cut down on misinformation, claiming that this was more dangerous than Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Kennedy said:
The biggest threat to democracy is not someone who questions the results of an election, but a president of the United States who uses the power of his office to force social media companies, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, to open a portal so that the FBI, the CIA, the Internal Revenue Service, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the National Institutes of Health can access it to censor those who criticize him politically.
Kennedy was apparently referring to the recent US Supreme Court case between the Biden administration and several states alleging that the administration exceeded its authority by asking social media companies to block or remove misinformation about COVID-19, vaccines and the 2020 election.
Kennedy, known for spreading anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, made an unsuccessful attempt to join the lawsuit after his Instagram account was suspended in 2021 for posting “debunked claims” about Covid-19 and vaccines. RFK Jr.’s account was later reinstated.
A similar case between Kennedy and the Biden administration is pending in the lower courts, although the court has barred him from participating in this case.
Kennedy, who campaigned on the importance of the First Amendment and portrayed himself as a victim of government authority, claims that his social media page was targeted because of his political position and that President Biden deprived him of Secret Service protection.
CNN: “When people talk about the threat to democracy that Trump poses, do you really think that is equal to Biden?”
RFK JR: “Biden is much worse threat to democracy.. President Biden is the first president history that has used the federal agencies to censor political speech” pic.twitter.com/zmtgNGn6Ke
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 2, 2024
CNN: “When people talk about the threat that Trump poses to democracy, do you really think that equates to Biden?”
RFK JR: “Biden is a far worse threat to democracy. President Biden is the first president in history to use federal agencies to censor political speech”
For these reasons, Kennedy believes that Biden poses a greater threat to democracy, but he also noted the danger of Trump trying to overturn the 2020 election.
“[Trump’s] attempt to overturn the election is a clear threat to democracy,” Kennedy said.
RFK Jr. added that he thought the 2000 presidential election was “stolen” from Al Gore.
Kennedy has been accused of promoting conspiracy theories before and during his campaign and of using his status as the son of Robert F. Kennedy to garner more support, drawing criticism from his own prominent family.
