A group backing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for president released a new long-form ad in which he reads aloud personal attacks from media outlets for the first minute.
The 30-minute video, released by the super PAC American Values 2024 (AV24) on Friday, takes a comical approach, as the controversial independent presidential candidate addresses his critics head-on.
The first minute of the video appears to be modeled on the popular “Jimmy Kimmel Live” segment called “Mean Tweets,” in which the host has his celebrity guests read aloud criticism about themselves that unknown X accounts posted online.
The video begins with Kennedy, reading: “’He is nuts and clearly disturbed,’ The Standard; ‘He’s angry,’ Vanity Fair; ‘His own family hates him,’ The New York Post; ‘He sounds like he is transmitting from another galaxy he is so crazy,’ The New York Post; ‘Kennedy is a humorless bully living in a paranoid fantasy,’ Vanity Fair; ‘What the f— is wrong with Bobby Kennedy?’”
Someone off-camera then hands Kennedy notecards, from which he continues to read.
“’He’s a walking, talking, conspiracy theory,’ The New York Times; ‘He’s completely divorced from reality,’ The Guardian; ‘He is vile,’ the White House; ‘Being with him was the low point of my summer,’ Vanity Fair. ‘Bobby Kennedy speaks with a croaking, rasping, painful-sounding voice. His vague explanation is that it’s a virus, but more likely it is a crackpipe voice,’ The Standard; ‘Kennedy is a crank,’ The New York Times; ‘He is a crank,’ The New York Times; ‘He’s a crank who cranks out whoppers the way Taylor Swift disgorges perfect pop songs,’ The New York Times; ‘He has conversations with dead people,’ The Guardian.”
Kennedy then laughs to himself, and the camera switches to a low, profile shot, giving the appearance of a behind-the-scenes view of the production team. Kennedy leans over his shoulder, looks into the camera directly and says, “I wouldn’t vote for that guy either.”
The title of the video — “Who is Bobby Kennedy?” with the subhead, “‘What if he’s not crazy?’” — then flashes across the screen. The remainder of the video introduces the audience to the candidate’s biography.
The video was produced by Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show” creator Jay Carson and director Mike Piscitelli, AV24 said in a press release.
“The film tells Kennedy’s story in an eloquent, candid, motivating, and entertaining way. It details how the prevailing narrative about him — ‘crazy,’ ‘dangerous,’ ‘unhinged’ — bears little resemblance to the reality of who he is and the work he’s done as a successful environmental attorney and corruption fighter,” the press release said.
Following the video’s release on Friday, Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram initially blocked the video on both platforms. A spokesperson for Meta said the video was incorrectly flagged as spam and the issue was addressed soon after it was discovered.
“The link was mistakenly blocked and was quickly restored once the issue was discovered,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
AV24, however, has pledged to move forward with legal action, claiming censorship.
“When social media companies censor a presidential candidate, the public can’t learn what that candidate actually believes and what policies they would pursue if elected,” Tony Lyons, co-founder of AV24, said in a statement.
“We are left with the propaganda and lies from the most powerful and most corrupt groups and individuals. This is the hallmark of an oligarchy — not a democracy,” he added.
The Hill has reached out to Meta for a response.
