Abortion and fertility medicine Kennedy told Reuters that
abortions are a "tragedy" but abortion should be a person's right "throughout the pregnancy". Speaking to reporters at the
Iowa State Fair in August 2023, Kennedy expressed support for a national ban on abortion after the first three months. He elaborated further, "Once a child is viable, outside the womb, I think then the state has an interest in protecting the child". A spokesman from his campaign later released a statement saying that Kennedy had misunderstood the question because it had been asked in a noisy and crowded exhibition hall, saying that the candidate "does not support legislation banning abortion" and is always in favor of a person's right to choose. Running mate Nicole Shanahan has been a vocal opponent of
in vitro fertilization, calling it "one of the biggest lies that's being told about women's health today." She has instead advocated for women interested in having children to increase their
exposure to sunlight, among other unconventional methods.
Democracy Speaking on
Erin Burnett OutFront, Kennedy said that President Biden poses a bigger threat to democracy than Donald Trump, alleging that he was the first ever president to use federal agencies to censor free speech. He also expressed concern with Trump's
attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election, but downplayed their severity. He added that
election deniers had valid concerns and should not have been demonized.
Democratic National Committee advisor
Mary Beth Cahill strongly rebuked Kennedy's remarks, A campaign fundraising email sent in April 2024 said that
Edward Snowden,
Julian Assange and the
January 6 rioters were political activists who had been wrongly "stripped of their Constitutional liberties." The email incorrectly identified Assange as an American citizen (he is an Australian citizen). As for defending the January 6 rioters, the Kennedy campaign blamed the marketing firm that handles their email communications. Following Trump's conviction of 34 felonies by a jury in his
New York hush money case, Kennedy, agreeing with the Republican stance, called the verdict "profoundly undemocratic" and attacked Democrats by claiming that the prosecution was politically motivated.
Economy At the start of his campaign, Kennedy said that his priority would be "to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism in our country." He was strongly critical of the contemporary
political economy of the United States, describing it as a "
cushy socialism for the rich and this kind of brutal, merciless capitalism for the poor". Kennedy has proposed to enact policies that favor "small and medium businesses" and break up "
too-big-to-fail" banks and monopolies: "When crisis strikes, bail out the homeowners, debtors, and small business owners instead." In an interview with
The Hill's Rising program, Kennedy expressed support for "giving some kind of massive debt forgiveness" for
student loans in order to "unleash" creative energies and "rebuild the country."
Environment Kennedy vowed to repeal segments of President Biden's climate initiatives in the
Inflation Reduction Act, including the bill's
carbon capture and storage initiatives and the issuance of clean energy subsidies. Kennedy
opposes nuclear power as a clean energy source. In a 2023 interview with
Elon Musk, Kennedy called himself a "free-market absolutist" in regard to the construction of clean power generation, saying "I believe that we should take the cheapest form of energy, that we should have no subsidies, no externalities, and all the companies should internalize their costs in the way that they internalize their profits. And that means the cost of pollution." In a June 2023 speech to the
Ethan Allen Institute, Kennedy proposed a plan to expand the nation's electric grid, and ensure "free energy forever," by offering incentive to state governments to reform a regulatory system, which he said is governed by "byzantine rules".
Foreign policy Kennedy has said he wants to "end the proxy wars, bombing campaigns, covert operations, coups, paramilitaries, and everything else that has become so normal most people don't know what's happening." In June 2023, Kennedy stated in an interview that on broad terms he believes that
U.S. foreign relations should involve significantly reducing the military presence in other nations. He specifically said the country must "start unraveling the Empire" through closing
U.S. bases in different locations worldwide.
China During an appearance on
Newsmax TV in June 2023, Kennedy claimed without citing any evidence that the United States and China are engaged in an arms race to develop what he described as "ethnic
bioweapons" designed to attack and harm people of a specific race. He also claimed without evidence that, despite the U.S. being a signatory to the
Biological Weapons Convention, the
Central Intelligence Agency has continued to undertake banned bioweapons research in secret. In 2024, Kennedy told
Politico he would abandon "provocative policies" pursued by the Biden and Trump administrations, saying "China does not want a hot war … [Kennedy] will negotiate sensible and verifiable arms reduction treaties starting with matters of urgent mutual interest such as reducing the risks of bioweapons and AI weapons." He promised to "shift the competition to the economic realm", while also avoiding decoupling. He said he wanted to end the US "making enemies throughout the world by projecting military power even as China makes friends through its economic power". In regards to Taiwan, he would reassure China the US "will never attempt to use Taiwan as a pawn to weaken China", which would lead China and Taiwan to "peacefully coexist and come to mutually satisfactory political arrangements".
Israel and Gaza On December 18, 2023, in a
Breaking Points interview with
Krystal Ball regarding the
Gaza humanitarian crisis, Kennedy criticized the
Palestinian people, calling them "arguably the most pampered people by international aid organizations in the history of the world," referring to the disproportionate level or humanitarian aid the region receives and compared the conflict to a hypothetical scenario where "if Mexico attacked us and we built a fence, would you blame us for caging in Mexico?" His support for Israel earned praise from rabbi and author
Shmuley Boteach, as well as from hedge fund manager
Bill Ackman. During a January 26, 2024, interview on
WABC (AM), Kennedy stated that he was "not a fan of the Netanyahu government," but defended Israel's response to the
October 7 attacks. He claimed to have "a long history of support for Palestinians" and that he is "anti-
Hamas". Kennedy has called Israel a "moral nation" that was justly responding to Hamas provocations with its attacks on Gaza, and he is against the
potential six-weeks ceasefire agreement backed by President Joe Biden, calling it an excuse for Hamas to rearm and rebuild itself.
Ukraine and Russia Kennedy argues that there were
agreements between United States and Russian (or Soviet) leaders emphasized that
NATO would not expand eastwards, and the illegal
invasion of Ukraine occurred because Russian security concerns were ignored by the United States. He has described Russia's conduct with regard to the
Minsk Agreements as "acting in good faith." His son, Conor, fought in the conflict as a member of the
Ukrainian International Legion. Kennedy has blamed the war on alleged U.S. engineering of the 2014
Revolution of Dignity; wrongfully stating the war has cost the U.S. $8 trillion, blamed Ukrainian President
Zelensky for "provoking" Russia, claimed Ukraine had allowed the U.S. to place nuclear-capable Aegis missile launchers along Ukraine's 1,200-mile border with Russia, and pushed the
Ukraine bioweapons conspiracy theory. Kennedy believes that the administration of President Joe Biden in large part caused the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia due to reckless and militant action; he has specifically cited the issue of
NATO expansion into Eastern Europe. At the same time, he has clarified that he refuses to connect this criticism with anything considered support of the
government of Russia under Putin, particularly given Kennedy's opposition to
the regime's beliefs and politics. He has remarked that "Putin is a monster" and also labeled the leader "a thug" as well as "
a gangster". However, Kennedy has also stated that he would sign a bill banning
assault weapons if it passed Congress. Kennedy has strongly suggested that
antidepressants and other
psychiatric drugs are to blame for
school shootings. He has contended that "there's a tremendous circumstantial evidence
SSRIs and
benzos and other drugs are doing this." At the same time he acknowledged that there is no data to support this claim, and promised to research the subject himself. He said however that "prior to the introduction of
Prozac, we had almost none of these events in our country." Experts say that there is no evidence for a connection between psychiatric drugs and school shootings and point out that only a minority of school shooters were prescribed drugs.
Healthcare coverage In contrast to a
Medicare for All system favored by many Democratic politicians, Kennedy has stated that his "highest ambition would be to have a
single-payer program ... where people who want to have private programs can go ahead and do that but to have a single program that is available to everybody." He has also conceded that such a system would probably be "politically unrealistic." He also opposes the prospect of
nationalizing the pharmaceutical industry or providing a
public option for pharmaceuticals, and instead emphasizes the need to prevent
regulatory capture. Kennedy has said he wants to make existing services available to all, including "alternative and holistic therapies that have been marginalized in a pharma-dominated system." In January 2024, Kennedy vocalized his support for
Texas governor Greg Abbott in his ongoing dispute with the federal government over jurisdiction to handle immigration issues in
Texas.
Law enforcement Kennedy has vowed to "transform the police." He is in favor of training police officers in de-escalation tactics, mediation skills, and said, "We will incentivize them to prevent violence, not make unnecessary arrests." Additionally, he announced that he would appoint an
attorney general who is tough on alleged
police misconduct and
hate crimes.
LGBT issues Kennedy has long supported the legalization of
gay marriage. He has stated that transgender people deserve respect, that he is opposed to "mean-spirited" legislation and that he supports peoples' "gender choices". However, he is against
transgender women participating in women's sports, and has supported the
LGBT chemicals conspiracy theory. In a book review of
The Real Anthony Fauci, psychiatrist
Theodore Dalrymple observes that Kennedy often dismisses the widespread scientific consensus that
HIV causes AIDS. Kennedy continues to repeat long-debunked theories that the disease is caused by a "gay lifestyle" and the use of
poppers and injectable drugs.
Donald Trump Kennedy opposed the decision of the
Colorado Supreme Court to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the ballot in the state Republican primary, arguing that the move deprived voters of their right to choose.
Vaccination and COVID-19 Kennedy is active in the
anti-vaccine movement contrary to the overwhelming
scientific consensus that vaccines are safe and effective. He is the founder and chairman of the anti-vaccine disinformation organization
Children's Health Defense, which is known for promoting conspiracy theories and
quackery. He has previously aligned himself with the studies of
Mark Geier, a former physician whose license was revoked for administering
chemical castration medications to
autism spectrum disorder patients. Kennedy criticized former President Trump's response to the pandemic, blaming Trump for travel restrictions, mask mandates, and closing down churches. During the
COVID-19 pandemic, he promoted the debunked claim that
hydroxychloroquine and
ivermectin were effective treatments for the virus, and multiple conspiracy theories related to COVID including false claims that both
Anthony Fauci and the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation were trying to profit off a vaccine, and suggesting that
Bill Gates would cut off access to money of people who do not get vaccinated, allowing them to starve. His campaign released a 30-minute advertisement, narrated by actor
Woody Harrelson. The advertisement made misleading claims about vaccine safety and falsely implied a
relationship between vaccines and autism, according to
FactCheck.org. == Public reception ==