Dem
51
GOP
49
On Tuesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded to a long and damning Vanity Fair article that claimed he sexually assaulted a 23-year-old woman he hired as a babysitter for his children and barbequed and ate a dog.
Here is the photo of what Kennedy called a goat but which veterinary experts said is a dog. Also noteworthy is that Kennedy sent the photo to a friend with a recommendation to visit the best dog restaurant in Seoul, so he was at least claiming it was a dog, even if it really was a goat:
The photo's digital metadata says it was taken in 2010, the year Kennedy said a tapeworm entered and ate part of his brain. Kennedy says it was taken in Patagonia but forensic experts said it was taken in South Korea.
Kennedy called the Vanity Fair article "garbage," but admitted that he had many skeletons in his past. When confronted with the allegation that he sexually assaulted his babysitter, Kennedy didn't even bother denying it. He merely said: "I'm not a church boy." When the victim was asked if the story was correct about the assault, she said it was. The article also said Kennedy had numerous extramarital affairs. Kennedy also noted that he had a "very rambunctious youth." He may be defining his youth up to age 65. He didn't say.
The response may have made the situation even worse than it already was, since the response got far more attention than the article. Will the article and the response hurt his presidential campaign? Maybe not, since 36% of both Democrats and Republicans own a dog and they are likely to be equally appalled by the photo and story. Still, if Kennedy is still a factor come October, the candidate he is hurting most is likely to start running ads showing that he is a nutjob and horrible person. (V)