Robert F. Kennedy, a potential candidate for 2024, supports Elon Musk’s fight for free speech against leftist censorship.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Talks Free Speech with Elon Musk on Twitter

The topic of free speech loomed large in a Twitter conversation on Monday featuring Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the scion of American political royalty, longtime liberal activist, and upstart Democratic presidential candidate.

“I think if we don’t protect free speech at all costs, we don’t have a functioning democracy,” Kennedy said.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk invited Kennedy, who some polls show has as much as 20% support among Democrats in his bid to wrest the 2024 nomination away from President Joe Biden, to appear in the second Twitter Spaces conversation featuring a 2024 White House contender after one late last month with Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. Kennedy praised Musk, telling him that Twitter under his leadership has fought against “censorship” on the platform.

Instagram Lifts Ban on Kennedy’s Account

No stranger to being silenced on social media, Instagram banned Kennedy over his posts raising concerns about the safety of COVID vaccines more than two years ago. Just this past weekend, Instagram restored his account, with parent company Meta saying it allowed the return because Kennedy is an active presidential candidate.

“There’s never been a time in history when we look back and say that the people who are censoring free speech were the good guys,” Kennedy said. “They’re always the bad guys. It’s always the first step toward totalitarianism.”

Both Musk and Kennedy seemed to agree that democracy cannot succeed when speech and the flow of information are bogged down by restraints.

“The remedy for bad speech is more speech,” Kennedy said.

Fighting against censorship is a costly battle, even for the social media platforms themselves, as Musk attested during his conversation with Kennedy. Talking about losing the support of advertisers, Musk said Twitter has lost half its revenue “simply because we insist on free speech.”

Kennedy’s Eclectic Mix of Policy Positions

Kennedy has shaken up the race with an eclectic mix of policy positions since announcing his bid in April. Known for his skepticism of Big Pharma, Kennedy has railed against the COVID vaccines, which he charges were rushed to market and have been shown to have dangerous side effects. That position could resonate with some conservatives as well as the Democrats Kennedy is courting.

Kennedy has spoken out against the Biden administration’s approach toward the war in Ukraine, advocating for a peace deal. He has also called for tighter control of the southern border and for barring biological males from competing in girls’ sports, all positions that would appear to run counter to the Democratic Party’s leadership.

Despite his impressive rise in the polls, his bid to earn the Democratic Party’s nomination is a long shot at best, as intra-party challengers to incumbent presidents have a poor track record. His uncle, Ted Kennedy, failed in his 1980 bid to take the nomination away from then-President Jimmy Carter.

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