Democratic strategist James Carville had some fairly nasty things to say about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday, suggesting Kennedy should be locked away in a mental institution.
Carville was reacting to Kennedy’s endorsement of Donald Trump on Friday in Phoenix, concerned the move could swing the race in the Republican’s favor in states like Arizona.
So the former Bill Clinton advisor took some swipes at RFK Jr. on CNN.
“I really feel sorry for the Kennedy family because I will remind them, you can pick your friends, you can’t pick your relatives. And if Bobby Kennedy lived in a more humane country, they would have him in a nice rubber room and, you know, three hots and a cot and take care of this guy,” he said.
“He has no business being out on the street mixing and mingling with people. But this is where we are in this country. We have a mental health crisis, and he’s at the top of it,” Carville added.
Some of it is obviously just his attempt at dark humor, but make no mistake the message is clear: RFK Jr.’s nuts, so don’t follow his lead and vote for Trump.
James Carville says that RFK Jr. should be locked up in a mental institution:
“No business being on the street” pic.twitter.com/xWsqAQvOPz
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) August 27, 2024
CNN pulled a similar stunt on Friday, when the network cut away from Kennedy’s announcement that he was suspending his campaign and backing Trump.
Are Democrats scared of what RFK Jr.’s endorsement means?
As soon as RFK Jr. began to say negative things about Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris‘ unwillingness to do interviews, CNN went to commercial.
The CNN host said Kennedy had been “outlining what led him to his quixotic quest for the White House.”
Subtext message: Don’t take this guy seriously. RFK’s Jr. took note of the slight with a post on X.
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) August 23, 2024
News outlets have also made much of Kerry Kennedy’s anger with her brother for betraying the family’s values. She and four Kennedy siblings put out a joint statement saying as much.
I am sharing a personal statement that my family and I have made in response to my brother’s announcement. pic.twitter.com/j7vTTabNYZ
— Kerry Kennedy (@KerryKennedyRFK) August 23, 2024
Well, RFK Jr. has other brothers and sisters and members of his family who did not join them.
“I’m outraged and disgusted by my brother’s gaudy and obscene embrace of Donald Trump. And I completely disavow and separate and disassociate myself from Robert Kennedy Jr. and his flagrant and inexplicable effort to desecrate and trample and set fire to my father’s memory,” Kerry Kennedy told MSNBC host and former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
“I am disgusted by my brother’s obscene embrace of Donald Trump. And I completely disavow and dissociate myself from Robert Kennedy Jr.”
-Kerry KennedyMy siblings are democrats, and I would quite literally never speak this way about them. Ever.
As usual, it’s people with… pic.twitter.com/LMMiBZoOOx
— Natalie Jean Beisner (@NJBeisner) August 27, 2024
“I think if my dad were alive today, the real Robert Kennedy would have detested almost everything Donald Trump represents,” Kerry added.
“Dad was the attorney general of the United States,” she further noted.
I wonder how he would feel about the Biden DOJ politically weaponizing the agency to try to impact the result of a presidential election, censor free speech and target pro-life and other conservative Americans.
RFK Jr. was far more magnanimous when asked about some of his siblings’ reaction to his endorsement of Trump.
“My family is at the center of the Democratic Party. I have members of my family that are working for the Biden administration,” he said, noting that President Joe Biden has been a family friend for years.
“I understand that they’re troubled by my decisions, but, you know, I love my family, and I feel like we were raised in a milieu where we were encouraged to debate each other, and debate ferociously and passionately about things, but to still love each other,” Kennedy continued.
His siblings are free to take their positions on the issues of the day, and he pointed out that many members of his family have been supportive and working in his campaign.
“I have a very big family. There’s a few of them that are troubled, but I think we all need to be able to disagree with each other and still love each other,” Kennedy concluded.
RFK sounds far more mentally grounded in reality regarding his endorsement decision than Carville or Kerry Kennedy, who appear to be suffering from an acute case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.
