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WASHINGTON — Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he is dropping his Democratic bid for president and re-entering the 2024 race for the White House as an independent.
Kennedy, an heir to the storied political family, said Monday he will no longer be running as a Democratic candidate, instead opting to pursue an independent bid for president.
"I'm here to declare myself an independent candidate for president of the United States," he told a crowd of supporters in Philadelphia. "And that's not all − I'm here to join you in making a new Declaration of Independence for our entire nation."
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Kennedy during his speech on Monday criticized swaths of the economy and American political system, saying his campaign will declare independence from corporations, Wall Street, technology and pharmaceutical companies, military contractors and the "mercenary media." He also called the traditional two-party system in the United States "rigged" for voters.
Kennedy said he didn't make the decision to run as an independent lightly, saying that it's painful for him to let go of his family's longtime party.
"I've come here today to declare our independence from the tyranny of corruption, which robs us of affordable lives, our belief in the future and our respect for each other," he said. "But to do that, I must first declare my own independence, independence from the Democratic Party and from all other political parties."
The move makes Kennedy the second major third-party candidate running for president in 2024, alongside Cornel West, a progressive activist and scholar.
Kennedy, the son of former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, both assassinated in the 1960s, has campaigned on a platform of fighting for the "liberties guaranteed by the Constitution."
He has had to defend many of his own claims, specifically around debunked views that vaccines are linked to autism. Vaccines do not cause autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.
Kennedy referenced the unsuccessful campaigns of prior independent candidates, but argued that his would be different.
"This time it's going to be different because this time the independent is going to win," he said.
Kennedy spoke about young voters during his Monday speech and said they have have become repelled by toxicity and dishonesty in politics.
"I'm happy to say that the old political alignments are dissolving," he said. "The right and the left have become all mixed up anyhow," he said.
He also claimed that if he wins the White House on an independent ticket, he'll be "independent" of political forces other than voters.
For example, he vowed that he would pursue foreign policy focused on peace and diplomacy because he will be independent of military contractors, the private companies that do business with U.S. officials.

Does he have any chance of winning?