Misinformation Watch: Checking RFK's Claim Parties are Captured by Corporate Money

On Sunday evening, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held a press conference reacting to President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race. The independent presidential candidate briefly commended Biden on his long career in public service, before making several political statements aimed at boosting his own election ambitions. 

Kennedy spent the majority of his time reaffirming his platform, contending that his opponents can’t prioritize the American public. Instead, he asserted that their decisions are influenced by corporate interests because both major political parties are “captured by corporate money.” 

For context, Kennedy began his argument by asserting that a 2010 Supreme Court ruling “accelerated” the corporate power within the American government because it “unleashed a tsunami of corporate money into the American political process.” 

The ruling in question is Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC), which held that certain campaign finance rules restricting independent expenditures for political campaigns were unconstitutional because they violated the First Amendment right to free speech. 

Kennedy criticized former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris, highlighting actions taken throughout their political careers that illustrate how corporate money influenced their choices at the expense of the American people. He suggested that these choices support his argument, and serve as evidence that the Democratic and Republican candidates cannot prioritize the interests of the public because of corporate influence.

In his criticisms of Biden and Trump, Kennedy also made several claims about everything from former cabinet members to the war in Ukraine. While verifying all of Kennedy’s claims in real time would have been virtually impossible, there’s plenty of context surrounding them worth noting. Here’s what to know:

Claims About Trump

Kennedy: Trump “appointed a pharmaceutical lobbyist and CEO to run HHS, a Verizon lobbyist to run the FCC, a Goldman Sachs CEO to run the Treasury Department, an oil lobbyist to run the Interior Department, a coal lobbyist to run the Environmental Protection Agency, and so on.”

The Facts: This statement is mostly accurate; however, some details are misrepresented. 

“Pharmaceutical lobbyist and CEO to run HHS”:

Alex M. Azar II served as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from 2018 to 2021. Before his service, Azar spent 10 years at a large affiliate of a global biopharmaceutical company in different roles, including as the SVP of corporate affairs and communications, and as the president. 

“Verizon lobbyist to run the FCC”:

Ajit Pai served as the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 2017-2021. While Pai served as the Associate General Counsel at Verizon Communications Inc. from 2001 to 2003, Pai spent the majority of his career as an attorney holding various public sector roles. 

“Goldman Sachs CEO to run the Treasury Department”:

Steven Mnuchin served as the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury from 2012 to 2021. Mnuchin spent his early career at Goldman Sachs, where he served as Partner and Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Executive Vice President. After leaving Goldman, however, Mnuchin was the founder and CEO of Dune Capital Management and OneWest Bank Group LLC.

“Oil lobbyist to run the Interior Department”:

David Bernhardt served as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior from 2019 to 2021. Bernhardt is a former lobbyist serving oil and gas clients. He was investigated for allegedly violating federal conflict-of-interest rules for decisions the department made during his time as Secretary which impacted one of his former clients. However, the investigation found no evidence to support these allegations.

“Coal lobbyist to run the Environmental Protection Agency”:

Andrew Wheeler served as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Before his service, Wheeler was a lobbyist for coal companies.

Kennedy: Trump “has announced that in his new administration… Jamie Dimon will be his choice as Commerce Secretary and Larry Fink, the Director of BlackRock, will run the Treasury Department.” 

The Facts: Trump has not formally announced his choices for the Secretary of Treasury and Commerce. Bloomberg (Lean Left bias) reported that Trump was considering Jamie Dimon, the JPMorgan CEO, for Treasury Secretary, but not the Commerce Secretary. Similarly, New York Post (Lean Right bias) claimed that Trump is actually considering Larry Fink, BlackRock CEO, for Treasury Secretary. 

However, in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump put an end to these rumors, “I don’t know who said it, or where it came from, perhaps the Radical Left, but I never discussed, or thought of, Jamie Dimon or Larry Fink for Secretary of the Treasury.” 

Kennedy: Trump “ran up an eight trillion dollar debt, more than all the presidents combined since George Washington.” 

The Facts: There are different ways to calculate the national debt, and the amount fluctuates depending on which method is used. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says that the government accumulated $7.8 trillion dollars in gross federal debt during Trump’s presidency. In contrast, the estimated ten-year cost of Trump’s legislation, including interest, is $8.4 trillion. The CRFB notes that much of this borrowing was due to policies that were established before Trump took office, and other unexpected circumstances. 

However, it is false that Trump ran up the debt more than every other president combined. During Barack Obama’s eight years, the total amount of debt reached 9.3 trillion.

Claims About Biden

Kennedy: President Putin and President Zelenskyy initialed an “agreement in April of 2022, and President Biden sent Boris Johnson over to force Zelenskyy to tear up that agreement.” 

The Facts: President Putin and President Zelenskyy were reportedly negotiating a peace agreement in April 2022. While Russia and Ukraine were very close to settling on an agreement, there is no evidence that a deal was signed by either party. 

Boris Johnson visited Kyiv in early April 2022. Johnson met with Zelenskyy pledging military equipment and financial aid to support their military efforts. A report from the Ukrainian Pravda said that Johnson told Ukrainian officials that the West was not ready to sign the agreement; however, they were willing to provide financial and military to support Ukraine’s war efforts instead. Although it is not provable that Biden “sent” Johnson, the report indicates that Ukrainian officials were surprised by his visit, and that Johnson seemed to be advocating on behalf of the collective West. 

Kennedy: “500,000 Ukrainian kids have died unnecessarily in a war that is enriching BlackRock because they own all the military contractors that are supplying the war… it also has the contract which President Biden gave them to rebuild Ukraine.” 

The Facts: The claim that 500,000 Ukrainian kids have died is false. In April, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported that about 600 children have been injured or killed since Russia’s invasion in 2022. 

BlackRock and JPMorgan joined forces to set up an investor fund to help rebuild Ukraine. Similarly, BlackRock is reportedly coordinating some of Ukraine’s reconstruction funds and advising Ukraine on how to use the money. Similarly, BlackRock has invested a significant amount of money in military weapons’ companies, such as Lockheed Martin. A large portion of U.S. aid to Ukraine approved by Congress is invested in U.S. military companies, including Lockheed. Similarly, the Ukrainian government is allowed to contract directly with Lockheed and other companies for weapon procurement. 

Claims About Harris

Kennedy.: Despite a Supreme Court order, “she kept 5,000 people… of nonviolent drug crimes… illegally in California jails,” saying that they were needed for “firefighting and other public work services.”

The Facts: There are reports that Kamala Harris failed to implement a 2011 Supreme Court order to address unconstitutional crowding in California prisons. In a 2014 class-action lawsuit, the plaintiffs were back in court, arguing that the state was stalling the process. The judges sided with the plaintiffs and California was ordered to allow non-violent, second time offenders who had completed half of their sentence to be made eligible for parole. However, lawyers for Attorney General Harris did make an argument that this ruling would negatively impact the prison’s labor programs, including one in which inmates fought California wildfires. 

Kennedy: California has the worst education system, “49th in education outcomes in the country,” and “50% of homeless people in our country are in California, and she was behind those policies.” 

The Facts:  It’s unclear exactly what data Kennedy is referring to. In 2007, California was ranked 49th in the performance of its economically disadvantaged students on the eighth grade national reading test. In 2014, California ranked 49th in per-pupil spending. However, reports indicate that California currently ranks in the middle of the pack among U.S. states, with U.S. News & World Report (Lean Left bias) reporting that California is ranked 23rd, while WalletHub says that California public schools are ranked 34th. 

What Kennedy may have been referring to is a study from 2018 by the National Center for Education Statistics, which found that California’s poor students ranked 49 out of 50 states in test scores. The study measured “Math scores among fourth-graders who qualify for free lunch” and the only state that ranked lower than California was Alaska.

Kennedy’s remarks about homelessness, however, are substantiated. For example, a recent Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) report indicated that California accounts for 49% of all unsheltered people in the U.S. According to HUD, “unsheltered homelessness” refers to people whose “primary nighttime location is a public or private place” not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation.

While it is unclear what “policies” Kennedy is referring to, and whether Harris was “behind” them, Harris has been criticized for certain policies related to education, including her Truancy Program, which charged parents with misdemeanors if their child missed more than 10% of days in a school year. 

Written by Olivia Geno, News & Bias Assistant (Lean Right Bias).

This blog was edited and reviewed by Joseph Ratliff, AllSides Content Designer and News Editor (Lean Left bias), Andy Gorel, News Editor and Bias Analyst (Center bias), Julie Mastrine, Director of Marketing and Media Bias Ratings (Lean Right), and Henry A. Brechter, Editor-in-chief (Center bias).

Headline changed for clarity on July 24, 2024.