RFK Jr.: Jill Biden should gently goad the president to step down
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. tells 'Jesse Watters Primetime' it may be Biden's time to retire.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., was asked whether he believes President Biden should step aside at the end of his first term after a special counsel's report found him to be an "elderly man with poor memory."
Kennedy told Fox News if he were in Biden's position, he would hope someone in his own family would politely suggest he step away from the political limelight if his mental acuity is as diminished as special counsel Robert Hur suggested.
"I think anybody can make up their mind about [Biden's situation] as well as I can. I hope that if he has the kind of cognitive challenges that the special counsel indicated he has, and if I were in that position, a member of my family or staff would approach me and assist me in gently stepping down," Kennedy said on "Jesse Watters Primetime."
Host Jesse Watters followed up by asking whether that is now the best role for first lady Jill Biden to play.
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"Yeah," Kennedy replied. "I think she should."
However, he added that if Biden believes he is fit to continue his re-election bid, he should agree to "unscripted discussions" in public and must have a debate with his challengers.
"[T]ell us what he's going to do about closing the border. Tell us … what he's going to do about restoring the middle class, about ending the… forever-wars around the world, about unraveling corporate capture and all these issues that are critical to our country right now," he said.
"We need a president who is on the ball, somebody who we all trust to answer that phone call at 3:00 in the morning…"
As Watters also noted, other press outlets began reporting on rumblings inside Democratic circles about potential Biden replacements.
A Washington Post story claimed top Democratic donors were being pressed as to whether there is time to replace Biden on the ticket with another high-profile Democrat.
Some of the names floated were Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
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Shapiro, in his first term after serving as attorney general and defeating retired Army Col. Doug Mastriano in 2022, recently told Harrisburg's ABC affiliate he has heard such talk but characterized it as "noise."
"I'm grateful people here in Pennsylvania and people across the nation are taking notice of the way we get stuff done," Shapiro told WHTM.
Whitmer was asked by MSNBC last year about a potential primary challenge to Biden and replied she is "proud" to instead support the president's re-election bid. She serves as one of Biden's campaign co-chairs.
On Fox News, Kennedy was also asked about a Super Bowl ad funded by his super PAC, which featured the Democratic family scion's likeness superimposed over a famous 1960 campaign ad of his presidential uncle's.
Kennedy said he was pleasantly surprised when he saw the ad for the first time when much of America did on CBS Sunday, and clarified his recent apology on the matter was directed at family members and others whose feelings were hurt by the use of JFK's ad.
Kennedy's cousin, Bobby Shriver – son of Eunice Kennedy Shriver: JFK's and RFK Sr.'s sister – blasted the ad, saying his mother would be "appalled by [RFK Jr's] deadly health care views," after noting Eunice's likeness also appeared.
On X, Kennedy replied to Shriver, saying he was sorry if the ad caused him pain, adding that federal regulations do not allow consultation between candidates and their PACs,
"I send you and your family my sincerest apologies. God bless you," Kennedy wrote.
Kennedy told Watters he "loved" the ad, but knew right away it would irritate some of his kin.
"I don't apologize for the ad, but I don't want to hurt people's feelings," he said.