Independent presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reiterated his view on Tuesday, suggesting that President Joe Biden poses a greater threat to democracy than former President Donald Trump. Kennedy's assertion focused on what he described as the Biden administration's attempts to censor political discourse online.
Kennedy, a former Democrat, made these remarks during an appearance on Fox News' "Fox & Friends," where he was asked to elaborate on his recent statement that Biden could be seen as a "much worse threat to democracy."
"I stated that I can present that argument, and I believe it's a discussion worth having," Kennedy replied.
He then referenced a current case before the U.S. Supreme Court concerning allegations that federal officials had pressured social media platforms to censor specific viewpoints regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 election.
One such instance involved a White House official contacting a Twitter employee after Kennedy's post suggested, without evidence, that baseball legend Hank Aaron had died from the COVID-19 vaccine.
The White House has defended its interactions with social media companies, stating that they were aimed at safeguarding public health, national security, and election integrity, and did not involve threats of adverse consequences.
The companies have asserted their right to moderate content as they see fit.
Despite a majority of justices indicating during oral arguments that they did not believe the Biden administration had overstepped, Kennedy took a different view, directly implicating Biden in what he perceived as government overreach.
"President Biden has done something unprecedented in history, which is to instruct the media, especially social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Google, to censor his political opponents," Kennedy alleged.
He cautioned against the erosion of the First Amendment, stating, "I think, you know, what President Trump said about, you know, questioning the election and, you know, to the extent that he engaged in an effort to overthrow that, of course that's a threat to democracy.
But it is not the worst threat."
The Biden campaign declined to respond to Kennedy's latest criticism, but national Democrats have increasingly criticized him, attempting to associate him with Trump.
Kennedy rejected these claims, asserting, "We're facing an unprecedented election, and we know the GOP is already working to prop up third-party candidates like Robert Kennedy Jr."
Kennedy also reiterated his frustration at being denied Secret Service protection, despite previous requests.
previously reached out to the Department of Homeland Security about the denial, but the agency declined to comment.
The decision is typically made based on factors such as polling averages, risk assessments, and the level of national campaigning.
Appearing on CNN, Kennedy linked his lack of Secret Service protection to what he sees as Biden's more concerning exercise of power compared to Trump.
"I think that is a threat to democracy -- him [Trump] trying to overthrow the election clearly is a threat to democracy," Kennedy said. "But the question was:
Who is a worse threat to democracy? And what I would say ... I'm not going to answer that question, but I can argue that President Biden is."
He emphasized the significance of the First Amendment, stating, "We placed the guarantee of freedom of expression in the First Amendment because all of our other constitutional rights depend on it.
If you have a government that can silence its opponent, it has license for any atrocity."