I’m heartbroken over my brother Bobby’s endorsement of Donald Trump.
I think often about my father and how he might have viewed the politics of our time. I’m not sure what he would have thought about TikTok or AI, but this much I know for sure: He would have despised Donald Trump.
Trump was exactly the kind of arrogant, entitled bully my father used to prosecute. Robert F. Kennedy’s life was dedicated to promoting the safety, security and happiness of the American people. That is why he would have so admired another former prosecutor, Kamala Harris. Her career, like his, has been all about decency, dignity, equality, democracy and justice for all.
Trump is the enemy of all that. The only thing he seems to be for is himself and, disturbingly, autocrats such as Vladimir Putin, whom my father would have regarded as an existential threat to our country.
Yet my brother now endorses Trump. To pledge allegiance to Trump, a man who demonstrates no adherence to our family’s values, is inconceivable to me.
Worse, it is sordid. Earlier this month, as Harris surged in the polls, my brother offered her his endorsement in exchange for a position in her coming administration. He got no response.
Now he has offered that same deal to Trump. His is a hollow grab for power, a strategic attempt at relevance. It is the opposite of what my father admired: “the unselfish spirit that exists in the United States of America.” [snip]
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be motivated to write something of this nature. With a heavy heart, I am today asking my fellow Americans to do what will honor our father the most: Ignore Bobby and support Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic platform. It’s what is best for our country...
That's RFK, Jr.'s brother Max Kennedy, writing in the Los Angeles Times,
imploring voters to "Ignore my brother Bobby." His sister Kerry also expressed outrage and disgust at RFK, Jr.'s, Trump endorsement. What a bizarre,
selfish, cynically transactional thing for RFK, Jr., to do, forever
tarnishing his family name for what is likely to be nothing in the end. Kudos to the rest of the family for making clear where they stand.
Two Nasa astronauts who have been stuck in space for over two months will return to Earth in February 2025 with SpaceX.
Nasa said the Boeing Starliner spacecraft the astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore had travelled to International Space Station (ISS) on would return to Earth "un-crewed".
The pair took off on what was planned to be an eight-day mission on 5 June but will now spend around eight months in orbit.
The Starliner experienced problems on its way to the ISS, including leaks of helium, which pushes fuel into the propulsion system. Several thrusters also did not work properly.
Boeing and SpaceX were both awarded billion-dollar contracts by Nasa to provide commercial space flights for its astronauts. Boeing’s was worth $4.2bn (£3.18bn) while SpaceX, which was founded by billionaire Elon Musk, got $2.6bn.
SpaceX has so far sent nine crewed flights to space for Nasa, as well as some commercial missions, but this was Boeing’s first attempt at a crewed mission.
Engineers at Boeing and Nasa have spent months trying to understand the technical issues with the Starliner craft. [snip]
The decision has been made to extend the pair's stay on the ISS until February 2025 so they can return on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
The extra time allows SpaceX to launch its next vehicle, with lift-off scheduled for the end of September.
It was supposed to have four astronauts on board, but will instead travel to the space station with two. This leaves room for Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams to join them in the vehicle to return to Earth at the end of its planned mission next February... (our emphasis)
Of course, safety has to be the number one priority, but the un- dependability of at least one of the two crew delivery options is a serious flaw in the overall mission. Boeing, with its recent history of airplane quality control issues, essentially failed in its first contracted mission to deliver astronauts and return them from the ISS. It's not unfair to say heads should roll there and, probably, at NASA for this egregious failure.
Former President Trump on Sunday raised questions about his participation in next month’s debate with Vice President Harris hosted by ABC News.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, complained about the network’s panel and an interview host Jonathan Karl conducted with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on “This Week” to question why he should agree to do a debate hosted by the network.
“I watched ABC FAKE NEWS this morning, both lightweight reporter Jonathan Carl’s(K?) ridiculous and biased interview of Tom Cotton (who was fantastic!), and their so-called Panel of Trump Haters, and I ask, why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?” Trump wrote.
Trump cited how “This Week” panelist Donna Brazile gave the Clinton campaign advance notice about town hall questions during the 2016 primary campaign to suggest something similar could happen with Harris. He also questioned whether ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, with whom he is involved in litigation, would be involved, though there is no indication he would be.
“They’ve got a lot of questions to answer!!!” Trump wrote. “Why did Harris turn down Fox, NBC, CBS, and even CNN? Stay tuned!!!”
Trump had previously agreed to an ABC News-hosted debate with President Biden for Sept. 10. After Biden was replaced atop the Democratic ticket by Harris, Trump cast doubt on whether he would participate...
Why did the chicken cross the road? To avoid debating Vice President Harris. While this might just be maneuvering on his part to get more favorable conditions for the ABC- hosted debate, as he says "stay tuned" for him to duck the debate entirely and try to blame VP Harris. Remember, he and President Biden agreed to only two debates, none that included Fox "News" or other networks. He's rightfully afraid of what VP Harris would do to him in a fair debate. He's a bully and a coward.
