RFK Jr. warns Black Rock 'feudal model' could turn the US into 'nation of renters'
IRVING, Texas — Just days after declaring himself as an independent candidate for the 2024 presidential race, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told supporters in Texas he’s ready to take on what he warned could be an impending economic crisis in the United States.
Following his official announcement on Oct. 9 that he was declaring independence “from the two political parties and the corrupt interests that dominate them” and running as an independent, Kennedy made a campaign stop Wednesday at the Dallas College North Lake Campus, where he was greeted by a modest early morning weekday crowd of around 150 supporters.
As attendees filed in and gradually filled the seats in the gymnasium, some supporters held “Kennedy 2024” signs and even took part in a rehearsal of the “Irish Blessing” as the crowd awaited Kennedy’s arrival.
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In a brief introduction, Kennedy campaign manager and former presidential candidate, Dennis Kucinich, alluded to the assassinations of Kennedy's uncle and father, respectively, President John F. Kennedy and former U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy.
“America was deprived of greatness in 1963 and again in 1968, but the spirit of John and Robert Kennedy still lives and is embodied in Robert Kennedy Jr.,” said Kucinich. “It’s embodied in what he stands for in terms of deep American values … in terms of uniting the country.
“This really is an opening in history that we can go through and create the country that we want, the country that we love, and Robert Kennedy Jr. is that instrument of that.”
Upon taking the stage, Kennedy wasted little time in going into what would turn out to be a laser-focused assessment of the American economic situation, specifically as it relates to inflation and skyrocketing housing prices in California.
He pointed to a recent study on homelessness in San Francisco — which Kennedy said he once considered to be the most beautiful city in the U.S. — that suggested a housing crisis could become a more widespread trend.
“This epidemic of homelessness now in San Francisco is about to roll like a tsunami across the rest of the country because the cost of housing is rising so steadily,” he said.
With repeated references to multinational asset management firm Black Rock and its subsidiaries buying up single-family homes throughout the U.S., Kennedy warned of a “feudal model” that could turn America into a “nation of renters.”
“They’re gonna turn us from a nation of homeowners into a nation of renters,” he said, adding this would pave the way for transforming American citizens “into subjects.”
“They’re doing it right in front of us,” he added. “They’re saying, ‘You’re gonna own nothing and you’ll be happy.’”
Touching on a number of hot-button economic issues, including Amazon and its “magical” business model — which Kennedy said involves paying zero dollars in federal and local taxes — “strip-mining the wealth” from local merchants to the feeling of “impending doom” he dubbed “gas station anxiety,” Kennedy spoke to what he said is the rising concern among middle-class voters about what kind of economy their children and grandchildren will inherit.
He also noted that more Republican and Democrat voters are choosing to support his campaign because of conversations such as the one in the last GOP debate, where Kennedy said there was plenty of talk about cultural issues but no mention of companies like Black Rock — the world's largest asset manager with over $9.4 trillion in assets — and its unparalleled influence on the world economy.
“People are just fed up. They know they’re being lied to,” he said. “[The debate] was, ‘Get tough on Mexico, get tough on China,’ and nobody mentioned Black Rock.”
The event was the second stop on Kennedy’s campaign tour, which, after the Dallas stop, is scheduled to take him to Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minneapolis and Arizona through the month of October.
In the hours after he declared himself as an independent candidate, supporters donated more than $11 million to American Values 2024, a super PAC for the campaign, with donations coming equally from Democrats, Republicans and independent voters.
“Millions of independent-minded Americans are seeing through the most powerful censorship and propaganda campaign against any candidate in American political history,” said American Values co-founder Tony Lyons. “They are angry at the DNC for attempting to disenfranchise them, eager to support an honest Democrat and more open than ever before in American history to an Independent and honest candidate.”
In a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, Kennedy earned about 14% support among likely voters, compared with President Joe Biden at 38% and former President Donald Trump at 40% in a potential 2020 rematch which pollsters said was “still too close to call.”
Ian M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post and the author of BACKWARDS DAD: a children's book for grownups. He can be reached at: [email protected].
