Robert F Kennedy Jr is facing mockery and criticism after it has been revealed that more than half of his Super PAC funding came from a single Republican mega-donor.
The son of the assassinated Attorney General and New York Senator Robert F Kennedy is running against President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination, with observers giving him little chance of giving the incumbent a real challenge.
The PAC, American Values 2024, was established the same month that the environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist launched his campaign. It reported $9.8m in funding by the end of June. On Monday, the group said it raised $6m last month for a total of about $16m, Politico noted.
The initial financial report states that the PAC received donations from both Republicans and Democrats, with the GOP donors providing the lion’s share of the funding.
More than half of the $9.8m donated through 30 June – $5m – was provided by longtime Republican donor Timothy Mellon, a former supporter of ex-President Donald Trump.
On Monday, Mr Mellon said Mr Kennedy was “the one Democrat who can win in the general election”.
Author and consultant Gavin De Becker gave $4.5m. He was previously an advisor to Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and has previously donated to both major parties.
The PAC also received donations from a number of Democrats, such as Abby Rockefeller, who donated $100,000.
But the Democratic donations made up a small share of the total.
The PAC received $50,000 from Cancer Monthly Inc, which pushes “alternative” treatments for cancer.
While the PAC has spent some money on newspaper ads in the early primary states, it’s mostly retaining its cash at this time.
The major donors who supported Mr Kennedy’s campaign directly included dozens of people who previously donated to Mr Trump or Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Politico notes.
Mr Kennedy was quickly criticised and mocked for the political leanings of his supporters.
“No surprise: More than half of the main RFK political action committee’s revenue came from a Trump mega donor. Kennedy is a Republican stooge,” Matthew Sheffield, a former right-wing media operative, wrote on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.
Lawyer Ron Filipkowski said that it was “The Least Surprising News of the Day award winner”.
“Shocking... how much from the Kremlin?” Bill Maxwell asked.
“Such a surprise that RFK Jr’s anti-immigration, pro-Russia, anti-vaccine, homophobic talking points are resonating so much with Republican donors I mean, whoever could have predicted it?” Duke University Professor Gavin Yamey wrote.
The founder and former CEO of the Democratic Leadership Council, Al From, added: “RFK Jr has no appeal to Republicans. He’s is a Republican plant to hurt Biden.”
