Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lambasts 'DNC-aligned mainstream media,' accuses them of engineering Harris' rise

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lit into liberal "media organs" of the Democratic Party in his remarks suspending his campaign on Friday, accusing them of essentially colluding with the party to stifle him and create a veneer of popularity for nominee Kamala Harris.

"Over the course of more than a year … the DNC-aligned mainstream media networks maintained a near-perfect embargo on interviews with me," he said. "During his 10-month presidential campaign in 1992, Ross Perot gave 34 interviews on mainstream networks. In contrast, during the 16 months since I declared, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, and CNN combined gave only two live interviews [with] me. Those networks instead ran a continuous deluge of hit pieces with inaccurate, often vile pejoratives and defamatory smears. Some of those same networks colluded with the DNC to keep me off the debate stage."

Kennedy, the nephew of President John F. Kennedy and son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, both of whom were assassinated, also said his famous Democratic family members would have been "astonished" to learn Harris had not done a single interview or "unscripted encounter with voters" in the nearly five weeks she's been leading the party.

"This is profoundly undemocratic. How are people to choose when they don’t know whom they are choosing, and how can this look to the rest of the world?" he asked. "My father and my uncle were always conscious of America’s image abroad, because of our nation’s role as the template for democracy, a role model for democratic processes, and the leader of the free world. Instead of showing us her substance and character, the DNC and its media organs engineered a surge of popularity for Vice President Harris based upon, well, nothing.