What RFK Jr. needs to understand

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By Ray Hanania

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Dear Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,

The first thing you need to understand about your candidacy for president is that the mainstream news media is not your friend.

The media is going to do everything possible to discredit you in the eyes of the voting public. They are driven mainly by their partisan loyalty to President Joe Biden, which is really their loyalty to former President Barack Obama.

They will tear anyone apart they believe will prevent their spiritual leader from returning to power, and they will ignore or minimize anything that Biden does wrong.

When you criticize or come after him, they will come after you. When you are trying to do what you feel is right, they will pick apart everything you say. Rather than focus on what you intend or mean, they will twist it and fixate on their spin.

When you respond to their distortions, you play into their hands.

For example, they claim you dismiss the “severity” of the Jan. 6 “insurrection” and they pounce on you. They want to force you to acknowledge their claims and then backtrack, weakening you as a “leader.”

More than a thousand protesters engaged in violence on Jan. 6 and maybe another thousand wanted to. But there were more than 30,000 protesters there who were legitimately angry with the election results. They protested lawfully. It’s a far-left conspiracy that it was an insurrection, a creation they concocted because they simply hate former President Donald Trump.

Anyone who challenges their assertion is called an insurrectionist simply for questioning or criticizing the election results.

You advance theories about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy or your father, Robert F. Kennedy Sr., and they will call you a “conspiracist” and therefore are fringe, which they can then sell to the public.

Never mind that the U.S. government continues to hide hundreds of thousands of documents on the JFK assassination. Why? Because they are protecting political dynasties and powers in this country and also legacies.

What ends up happening is that the biased and racist mainstream news media, one of the most corrupt institutions in America and far more threatening than any political insurrection or conspiracy, drags you into a “political segue” that feeds the image of what you are trying to convey, and trapping your candidacy in unanswerable circles of controversy.

What you must do is to ignore the mainstream news media’s biased provocations and find a way to get a stronger message to the public.

It’s not easy, but you can do a far better job of messaging. Don’t rely on social media because the major social media are in a corner, intimidated by false media claims like Facebook and X (Twitter).

Deal with the conspiracies when you win office, but right now address the concerns facing America and offer solutions that both Biden and Trump are failing to provide.

Crime is a major issue. What are you going to do about it? Our schools suck. Despite Biden and the media’s spin, the economy is worsening for most Americans. Race and racial issues remain a problem, aggravated by the media. Our foreign relations are a mess.

These are just some of the issues you need to focus on; fairly, Intelligently and without reacting to the media. (The media is the most despised institution by Americans.)

Do it in a reasoned way that appeals to Americans who are caught in a destructive polarization of anger fueled by Trump, Biden and the media. (Conflict is the media’s best friend. That’s how they profit.)

ON ANOTHER TOPIC: I want to thank Reader journalist Ben Joravsky for hosting me on his podcast this past week, talking about Chicago City Council hypocrisy and a myriad of other issues. Ben’s podcast is on most major podcast platforms.

Ray Hanania is a former Chicago City Hall reporter and award-winning columnist. Visit hanania.com for more opinion.