Kennedy warned that democracy will 'wither and die' without free speech
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., slammed government censorship during an exclusive interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, calling free speech the "cornerstone of democracy" and warning that government crackdowns on free expression could have disastrous implications.
"When people censor speech, when we look back in history, they're never the good guys," he said. "Government abuses every power that it's given, and if government suddenly has the capacity to censor its critics, it has a license for any atrocity."
The remarks come after the 2024 presidential hopeful faced off with House Democrats at a hearing on federal government censorship last Thursday. Democrats, including Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, accused Kennedy of holding racist views for comments stating that COVID-19 may have been "ethnically targeted" as he alleged those most immune to the virus were Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.
DEMOCRATS TRY TO CENSOR, REMOVE RFK JR. AT HEARING ON CENSORSHIP
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a hearing with the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on Capitol Hill on July 20, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
"This should not be a partisan issue. This needs to be bipartisan," he said of free speech. "The Democratic Party has always fought very hard – my father, my uncle – throughout its history, the word liberal means freedom and applies specifically to freedom of speech.
"We can't have a democracy if we don't have freedom of speech. It is the cornerstone of our democracy. That's why the framers put it in the First Amendment. It is, as I said, it's the sunlight, it's the water, it's the soil, and democracy. Without free speech, democracy will wither and die."
Kennedy has come under fire from members of his own party for his allegedly inflammatory remarks about vaccines. Many have even attempted to censor him outright, calling for his removal from the hearing Thursday along with broader efforts to censor his presidential campaign.
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. HOPES TO SIDESTEP MEDIA'S ‘COMIC BOOK CHARACTERIZATIONS' OF HIM
Campaign memorabilia for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is for sale in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 19, 2023. (JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
Kennedy, speaking to Bartiromo, criticized the treatment he has received from the mainstream media. Despite the Democratic Party's unwillingness to let him square off against President Biden on a debate stage, he remains hopeful that his message is reaching more people than originally thought.
"It's interesting to me because I've been really, you know, slammed in a way that I think is unprecedented even more than President Trump was slammed by the mainstream, by the corporate media," he said.
"But the Harris Harvard poll [The Harvard CAPS / Harris Poll] came out – the gold standard poll – I think 2,500 people yesterday showed that my popularity is greater than… I think 20 points than any other political candidate so, somehow the American people are hearing what I'm saying. I don't know whether it's through the podcast, through social media…."
RFK JR HAS ‘NO BUSINESS’ TESTIFYING IN CONGRESS ON GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP, DEMOCRATS SAY
Fox News poll shows Biden leads the pack of Democrats at 64% while Kennedy comes in second at 17%. (Sunday Morning Futures/Screengrab)
Kennedy said that, if people actually believed the mainstream media's narratives about him, his unavoidability ratings would be "off the charts."
Current polling suggests Kennedy comes in second behind current President Joe Biden, with a recent Fox News poll indicating Biden leading the pack of three at 64% and Kennedy trailing behind at 17%.
Author Marianne Williamson, whose bid for the Democratic nomination failed in 2020, trails behind the two at 10%.
Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.
