RFK Jr. claims US government has a ‘war addiction’ in SC town hall.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Criticizes President Biden’s Request for Ukraine Assistance
GREENVILLE, S.C.–Before a large and enthusiastic town hall crowd on Monday in this upstate South Carolina city, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized President Joe Biden’s recent request for another $24 billion in assistance for Ukraine.
Mr. Kennedy said the war in Ukraine is one of the root causes of America’s current economic problems.
“One of the big problems we have in our federal government is the addiction to war,” Mr. Kennedy said. “President Biden went to Congress and asked for another $24 billion for the Ukraine War.
“We’ve spent trillion dollars on wars since 9/11. If we kept that money home, we would’ve had childcare for every American. We would have free college education for every American. We’d be able to pay for our Social Security system,” Mr. Kennedy explained, prompting applause from the crowd.
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Congress authorized $113.1 billion for Ukraine in 2022, according to The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB).
The White House earlier in August asked Congress for $24 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 to provide humanitarian, military, and financial assistance in Ukraine, with $8.5 billion set aside for economic, humanitarian, and security assistance, according to the request.
According to a Heritage Foundation study, Congress has approved $113 billion in taxpayer aid to Ukraine less than two years after Russia’s invasion. That represents around $900 per U.S. household. according to a new analysis from the foundation.
Since announcing his candidacy in April to challenge President Biden, Mr. Kennedy has called for peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and has repeatedly chastised the Biden administration for continuing to fund Ukraine.
As part of his reasoning for ending the Ukraine war, Mr. Kennedy referenced his uncle, President John F. Kennedy.
“My uncle Jack said that the primary job of an American President of the United States is to keep the country out of war. He kept out of Vietnam. He sent only 16,000 military advisers there—mainly Green Berets,” Mr. Kennedy noted. “In October 1963, he learned that one of his Green Berets had died, and he asked his aide to give him a combat casualty list, and the aide came back and said 75 had died so far. He said: ‘That’s too many.’”
A Peaceful Conclusion
Mr. Kennedy has frequently reiterated his stance that talks should take place with Russia to seek a peaceful conclusion in the Ukraine war.
“We have made no effort to talk to the Russian leadership for many, many months—almost a year. And there have been many efforts by the Russian leadership to engage Ukraine in peace negotiations. And we have rebuffed these,” Mr. Kennedy explained.
“We need to be talking directly with Vladimir Putin and all sides, and we need to settle the insanity before we initiate another nuclear exchange that would destroy all of humanity.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times about Mr. Kennedy’s criticism, but National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby earlier this month told the Associated Press, “For people who might be concerned the costs are getting too high, we’d ask them what the costs—not just in treasure but in blood, perhaps even American blood—could be if Putin subjugates Ukraine.”
While Mr. Kennedy tours South Carolina, President Biden’s reelection campaign recently announced it is launching a $25 million series of ads targeting seven battleground states ahead of the 2024 Democratic primaries.
Ads will air in Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Spots will also target Hispanics in Florida, according to the campaign.
South Carolina is scheduled to lead off the 2024 Democratic presidential primary season in February. Mr. Kennedy is traveling around the state for what will be the first of many visits as he challenges President Biden for the party’s nomination.
Earlier this year, encouraged by President Biden, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) voted to strip the Iowa caucus of its traditional lead-off spot in the party’s presidential nominating process and replace it with South Carolina. Under the new format, South Carolina will be the first Democratic primary, on Feb. 3. New Hampshire has long been the country’s, and the GOP’s, first primary after the Iowa caucuses. Under the new calendar, which differs from the Republicans’ primary calendar, it would vote with Nevada on Feb. 6.
At each of his town halls in South Carolina, Mr. Kennedy focused his message on improving the economy.
“The two major candidates are running on the idea that they brought prosperity to our country,” Mr. Kennedy said. “As I travel around South Carolina and other states, I’m not seeing many Americans enjoying that kind of prosperity. I’m seeing people sitting at their kitchen tables and wondering how they are going to pay the bills.
“The average income in this country is now $5,000 less than the average cost of living for basic human needs—food, transportation, and housing.”
Mr. Biden won South Carolina in the 2020 Democratic primary. But John Fisher, a registered independent, believes that Mr. Kennedy has a path to victory in the state in 2024.
“There’s no candidate that articulates an issue better. He answers questions thoroughly and with facts and research. He doesn’t answer with a prepared response to fit a political agenda,” Mr. Fisher told The Epoch Times after the town hall in Florence.
“He is the only candidate right now working to build a bridge between the left and the right. There is no other candidate on either side who does that,” Mr. Fisher added. “People here want to hear about solutions. And how they will get done. He (Kennedy) does that, and he is giving people hope with his message of healing the divide.”
India Byrd is a 29-year-old college graduate who owns and operates a commercial and residential cleaning business in the Florence area. She was a regional field director for President Trump’s campaign in 2020 and is now volunteering for Mr. Kennedy’s campaign in South Carolina.
“He is the best candidate we’ve seen in a long time because of his knowledge and his common sense approach,” Ms. Byrd said as she handed out Kennedy yard signs outside the Florence town hall. “At a time when many people are struggling financially, he is resonating with the middle class and how decisions in Washington are affecting us here.”
“I see a lot of Trump supporters at these events who are interested in Kennedy,” Ms. Byrd added. “
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