RFK Jr.’s Address to the Republican National Convention 2026

So I’m 72 years old, and for 70 years of my life, I would have bet any amount of money that I would not be addressing a Republican convention. The irony of my presence here is inescapable. I attended my first Democratic convention in 1960 when I was six years old, and I attended most of the conventions, the Democratic conventions, after that, and I spoke as a keynote speaker in many of them. I grew up in a Democratic party of Franklin Roosevelt, of my uncle John Kennedy, of my father Robert Kennedy, and ours was a party of strong principles, of clear policies, and an inspiring, idealistic vision for democracy.

My uncle ran on a platform of tax cuts, strong defense, and fighting communism. Does that sound familiar? The Democrats of that era stood with labor and working people and the American middle class. Nearly every cop and firefighter was a Democrat. Our party was a champion of the Bill of Rights, and particularly for unbridled free speech.