Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated to an audience in Orange County on Wednesday evening that America is in danger of acting like an imperial strength rather than the spiritual leader it should be.
The , independent political candidate , said he would change the world’s “decay” by cutting the , U. S.  , military finances by quarter in his first three years in office — with further reductions in the future — and using the savings to boost home programs and the market.
” In the end, we’re going to include a stronger, smarter, better- intended national protection”, Kennedy said. ” If we use those benefits to restore our nation in every way, we will change… spending that is a constant drain on our nation’s vitality,” said one expert.
Kennedy spoke to a group of about 300 at the , Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum , in , Yorba Linda, the latest in a series of lecturers— including past Vice President , Mike Pence, former , U. N. Ambassador , Nikki Haley, entrepreneur , Vivek Ramaswamy , and former , Arkansas , Gov.  , Asa Hutchinson , — to emerge as part of the National Plan Ideas line.
Kennedy, 70, has recently bemoaned how the “peace income” — anticipated with the easing of tensions with the former , Russian Union , in the 1980s — did not result in a bigger change of government revenue toward domestic politics.
But the large decrease in defence spending would be very hard to find through , Congress , and is a far more dramatic change than suggested by the leading contenders for leader.
” With , Russia,  , North Korea, and the , Chinese Communist Party , all watching, RFK Jr. is more than eager to peddle Kremlin talking points” , , Matt Corridoni, a , Democratic National Committee , spokesperson, said in response to Kennedy’s speech. ” Just like , Donald Trump, he ca n’t be trusted to stand up for allies and against totalitarianism”.
The prospect, an economic lawyer, told the , Orange County , viewers that the state should draw lessons from not only his aunt, President , John F. Kennedy, but also from Nixon, JFK’s competitor in the 1960 election.
Kennedy claimed that both presidents understood how moral leadership, economic initiatives, and programs like the Peace Corps, helped America leave a better legacy in the world.
Kennedy said , China , had a smarter approach to foreign affairs — spending money less on its armed forces and more building up the nations of , Africa,  , South America , and other regions.
” They spent$ 8 trillion on bridges, roads, airports and schools and hospitals. … They were projecting economic power, rather than military power”, he said. Our perpetual wars all over the world made us enemies all over the world and left us bankrupt.  , China ‘s , investments, in contrast ,]were ] making friends around the globe and]winning ] wider influence in every corner of the Earth.
” We cannot go on pretending we are running the globe, “he continued, suggesting that , the United States’ , status in the world will improve when it no longer tries to dictate to other nations”. Paradoxically, we will once more ascend to the position of supremacy in the world by releasing the desire to rule.
At least 10 of the states have yet to confirm his candidacy, despite Kennedy’s assertion last week that he has qualified for the ballot in enough states to win the presidency. He is still viewed by most analysts as a long- shot candidate, but one who could potentially tip the race to either , President Biden , or former , President Trump.
Kennedy has been widely chastised in the past for his views — , particularly on vaccines, which he previously has suggested might cause autism, a view debunked by mainstream science, and for saying that Jews in Nazi , Germany  , had more freedom than Americans , under COVID- 19 mandates, a view for which he later apologized.
He opened the speech with a 20- minute excoriation of the country’s lockdown at the onset of the COVID- 19 pandemic, saying it had struck a crippling blow to civil liberties.
When he got to foreign affairs, he painted a grim picture of the nation’s impact on the rest of the world. Kennedy suggested that , U. S.  , belligerence had triggered massive instability following wars in , Iraq , and , Afghanistan.
” We create , ISIS, “he contended, using an acronym sometimes used for the , Islamic State , militant group. He said those conflicts had forced 4 million migrants into , Europe, serving to” destabilize all Western democracies.”
A number of his supporters who attended a reception prior to the hourlong speech were among the audience members who welcomed him warmly. Additionally, there were members of the museum and others from the general public who expressed interest in seeing a politician they thought they knew little about.
” I want to see, does this guy have the moxie, the leadership? ” said , Bob Torrez, a steel company executive who lives in , Orange”. Is this the guy I think could lead , the United States , to a better place. We obviously need to get better. We are weak.”
Defense Department , data show that the share of gross domestic product devoted to defense has declined to a little more than 3 % in recent years, off a high of more than 11 % during the Korean War and about 4.5 % during the wars in , Iraq , and , Afghanistan. According to , Econofact. org:” The United States , economy has tended to grow faster than military spending, so , defense spending as a share of GDP has been decreasing.”
But the , U. S.  , far outspends other nations, including other global powers. In 2023, the , Pete G. Peterson Foundation , found that America’s$ 877 billion in defense spending topped the next 10 countries ‘ combined expenditures of$ 849 billion.
” Even as its military technology has reigned supreme, America has been hollowing out from the inside,” Kennedy’s website says”. We cannot be a strong or secure nation when our infrastructure, industry, society, and economy are infirm.”
The candidate previously called for , the United States , to end its” imperial project” and to” attend to all that has been neglected: the crumbling cities, the antiquated railways, the failing water systems, the decaying infrastructure, the ailing economy.”
Kennedy told the audience that the , U. S.  , suffers from” an epidemic of chronic disease, a plague of addiction and historic economic inequality.”
The candidate claimed that the nation needed to rebuild in order to reduce out-of-control deficits and increase the value of the dollar. While foreign nations have used dollars as their reserve currency, that could change if the , U. S.  , does not adopt more sensible spending habits, he said.
We were like a teen bully on a third-grade playground as long as America was the unchallenged global superpower. We could make the rules for everyone else, “he said”. However, the third-graders are now no longer afraid of our bluster.
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