While grappling with the question of whose presidential campaign will be hurt most by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s campaign, it is important to follow the money and take a look at some of RFK’s most significant funders. While small donations may be coming in from across the country, it is the nexus of MAGA billionaires, the American Values 2024, and a small coteries of controversial celebrities that is providing the most juice.
In a late-February Rolling Stone story titled “Meet the Big Money Moguls Behind RFK’s Quest to Unseat Biden,” Adam Rawnsley reported that Kennedy’s “independent presidential campaign is being boosted by deep-pocketed supporters of Donald Trump, venture capitalists, conservative Hollywood types, and other celebrities” (https://rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/rfk-donors-trump-investors-celebs-1234975307/amp/)
American Values 2024 (av24.org), is the most important super PAC backing Kennedy. Adam Rawnsley Reported that “The group spent $7 million on a 30-second Super Bowl ad hyping Kennedy’s bid, which used recycled jingles and footage from the late President John F. Kennedy’s campaign, prompting outrage from the Kennedy clan and an apology from RFK.”
According to Rawnsley, “American Values 2024 has so far raised $38 million, and its most important donor is longtime Republican financier Timothy Mellon. Mellon, the scion of the famous banking magnate Andrew Mellon, has contributed millions of dollars to conservative candidates over the years, including $15 million in donations to MAGA Inc, the premiere pro-Trump super PAC, this election cycle.”
Another major donor is Financier Omeed Malik, “who has donated to both Republicans and Democrats over the years, [and] leads an anti-woke investment firm financing former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s new media venture.”
Former Papa John’s Pizza CEO John Schnatter, a forever anti-Obama, anti-affordable care act activist, has given $6,600 to Team Kennedy.
Kennedy’s recently named running mate, Nicole Shanahan, a Bay Area lawyer and philanthropist, who was married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has already donated several million to the American Values 2024 super PAC.
Then there are the so-called celebrities, including “Rick Salomon, the high-stakes poker player who came to prominence from his sex tape with Paris Hilton, is putting some of his winnings behind Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential campaign,” the Daily Dot’s Katherine Huggins recently reported (https://www.dailydot.com/debug/rick-salomon-rfk-jr-2024-paris-hilton/). Married twice to actress Pamela Anderson, Salomon has won more than $9 million playing poker.
“The leaked [Hilton] tape was originally filmed in 2001 and made it to the internet in 2003,” Huggins pointed out. “About a year after it leaked, Salomon began distributing the tape himself through an adult film company.”
As Huggins reported, the 70-year-old Kennedy, who is one of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethyl Kennedy’s 11 children, “has sparked backlash—including from his family—over his past false claim that COVID-19 targeted people based on race and promotion of anti-vax misinformation. Kennedy also baselessly linked antidepressants to school shootings, and gender dysphoria to exposure to an herbicide.”
Salomon has now joined a list of celebrities that are supporting Kennedy Jr.’s campaign: “YouTuber Jake Paul, who quietly gave Kennedy $3,300; Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was floated as a possible vice presidential pick; actor Woody Harrelson, who donned an RFK hat in August; and guitarist Eric Clapton, who in addition to fundraising with Kennedy, attempted to donate $5,000 (the contribution is not allowed due to Clapton not being a U.S. citizen),” Huggins noted.
On Thursday, April 11, the quiet part became real as NBC News’ Summer Concepcion, Ben Kamisar and Katherine Koretski reported that “A campaign staffer for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential bid has been fired after a video recently circulated of her talking about preventing President Joe Biden’s re-election by trying to send the race to the House of Representatives to potentially elect former President Donald Trump (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/rfk-jr-campaign-fires-new-york-staffer-said-defeating-biden-was-no-1-p-rcna147341).
“In a Wednesday night post to X, Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, RFK Jr.’s campaign manager and daughter-in-law, said the campaign had fired New York-based staffer Rita Palma’s contract ‘for misrepresentation immediately upon seeing the longer video in which she gave an inaccurate job title and described a conversation that did not happen.’”