Robert F Kennedy Jr thanks Elon Musk for saving American democracy in bizarre Twitter chat

Robert F Kennedy Jr, a prominent conspiracy theorist and longshot presidential candidate, praised Elon Musk for “rescuing American democracy” in a bizarre Twitter discussion between the pair on Monday.

Mr Kennedy lavished praise on the Twitter owner who hosted him on the platform for a rambling, two-hour-plus discussion spanning AI, the Ukraine war, and pharmaceutical companies.

The 69-year-old, who has previously been suspended from Instagram for sharing debunked claims about Covid-19 vaccines, said Twitter was the “last refuge” for those who depart from official orthodoxies.

“I just want to tell you how much I admire you for that and how grateful I am on behalf of my country,” he told Mr Musk.

“You would come here from another country and be a key instrument for rescuing American Democracy and freedom of speech.”

Mr Kennedy, who is the son of the former US attorney general Robert F Kennedy, and the nephew of President John F Kennedy, has long promoted discredited claims about vaccines.

Other members of the Kennedy clan have distanced themselves from his anti-vaccine views, calling them misleading and dangerous.

Mr Kennedy has launched a longshot bid to challenge Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, but many of his Kennedy relatives have publicly backed Mr Biden’s re-election bid.

His Instagram account was reinstated this week due to his presidential campaign.

His appearance on Twitter Spaces is the second such event Mr Musk has hosted after Ron DeSantis’ widely ridiculed presidential announcement on the platform.

The Twitter owner said he is open to hosting all political candidates on the platform as part of his ambition to promote Twitter as a modern day “public square”.

So far, however, Mr Musk’s discussions have largely focused on issues where his own views align with his guests, rather than probing them with difficult questions.

During his discussion with Mr Kennedy, the Twitter owner did little to challenge the Democrat’s claims around the Covid-19 pandemic.

At one point, Mr Kennedy implied that Covid was not a real disease. “Covid was clearly a bioweapons problem,” he said. “What if it was a real disease?”

At another point the presidential candidate blasted mainstream news outlets, claiming they were “propaganda vessels” for the US government and Wall Street.

Mr Musk agreed, responding that “traditional media... with some exceptions, [is] working in lockstep with the government and with corporate America”.