MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell slammed Democratic presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr., who he described as “addicted” to attention, during his show Thursday.
“It is very clear his campaign for president is nothing but a stunt. He will not win a single primary. Joe Biden is going to be the Democratic nominee for president and Robert Kennedy Jr. is not,” O’Donnell said.
“I’ve been very reluctant to speak about Robert Kennedy Jr. on this program because I have not wanted to enable his access to the drug addiction that he has never conquered. The drug addiction that has been with him for all of his adult life: The addiction to attention. The very same addiction that has driven Donald Trump in all of his adult life.”
Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, is polling well behind President Biden and has sparked backlash with offensive comments suggesting the coronavirus was engineered to avoid infecting Chinese and Jewish people.
He was invited to speak Thursday before a House panel during a hearing on “weaponization” of the federal government.
Some conservatives have voiced support for Kennedy, while political observers have noted he could help former president Trump in a hypothetical general election matchup if he runs as an independent and siphons votes away from Biden.
Trump and RFK Jr. have also swapped praise in recent weeks, with the former president praising Kennedy’s intelligence and Kennedy calling Trump an all-time great debater.
“I’m proud that President Trump likes me,” Kennedy said in a NewsNation town hall last month. “We’ve got to stop hating on each other.”