An English rock star not fond of COVID-19 lockdowns, a left-wing film director who has come under fire for his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a billionaire security firm founder with ties to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
On its face, these three characters may not necessarily seem to have a whole lot in common. What they do share, however, is bankrolling the long-shot White House bid for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Democrat turned independent who thinks he has what it takes to unseat President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election.
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Kennedy, son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY) and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, who were both assassinated, declared as an independent on Oct. 9. A USA Today and Suffolk University survey released Monday found Biden and former President Donald Trump tied with 37% of the 2024 vote, with Kennedy nabbing 13% in a hypothetical matchup. On a two-to-one basis, voters who expressed support for Kennedy, an anti-vaccine activist, said they'd typically vote for the GOP.
"He's only been an independent candidate now for two weeks and change, and so one thing to watch for is whether that Republican money is going to dry up," Kyle Kondik, managing editor of the University of Virginia's Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a nonpartisan political analysis newsletter, told the Washington Examiner. "He was kind of a useful candidate for Republicans to use against Biden, but now that he's an independent, that calculus changes."
Among political strategists who spoke with the Washington Examiner, Kennedy is not viewed as a serious threat to become president but rather a thorn in the side of both parties that would pull votes from those generally disaffected by mainstream politics. Kennedy "is clearly tapping into an electorate that is feeling increasingly frustrated," according to Chris Martin, vice president for the Republican consulting firm Look Ahead Strategies.
Money doesn't lie, either. Between July and September, Kennedy raked in an impressive $8.7 million in campaign donations. That's $470,000 more than the third quarter haul for ex-United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, who at 8.3% polls third among Republican presidential hopefuls. During that same period, it's also $758,000 more combined than contributions to both Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and former Vice President Mike Pence — whose campaigns have struggled to gain traction.
So, who are the faces helping to keep the lights on for the Kennedy campaign? Well, one is Timothy Mellon, a Republican megadonor and ex-chairman of the transportation-holding corporation Pan Am Systems. Mellon, the grandson of banking tycoon Andrew Mellon, gave $5 million in April to American Values 2024, a super PAC supporting Kennedy, campaign finance disclosures show. The billionaire on Sept. 20 poured $3,300 into Kennedy's campaign.
Another is Gavin de Becker, a billionaire security specialist who has worked on behalf of Bezos, Madonna, Michael J. Fox, Barbra Streisand, and John Travolta. The Kennedy-allied PAC pocketed $4.5 million from April to June from de Becker, the second most given to the committee other than Mellon's transfer. Kennedy's campaign was also cut a $3,300 check from de Becker in March, disclosures show.
Abby Rockefeller, the great-granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller and a longtime donor to left-wing causes, sent $100,000 in May to American Values 2024. Rockefeller and her husband, writer Lee Halprin, have helped fund socialist conferences, newspapers, and even the Democratic Socialists of America, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
'Political realignment'
It's a unique donor cohort, along with others who have given to Kennedy, and underscores how the candidate is pulling cash from across the political spectrum. Mellon, in June, for instance, steered $5 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund and was a major supporter of Trump's 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He also donated $1.5 million in October 2022 to Make America Great Again Inc., a Trump-allied super PAC, records show.
Meanwhile, de Becker has made donations through the years to the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the Democratic National Committee, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and ex-Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), who resigned over sexual misconduct allegations. He's also given to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), as well as the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns for ex-Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), 2008 campaign for later-President Barack Obama, and 2020 Democratic presidential campaign for Andrew Yang — who has since left the party.
Then there's Eric Clapton, the legendary guitarist who came under the spotlight following the outbreak of COVID-19 for opposing mask and vaccine mandates, as well as government lockdowns. He donated $5,000 in June to the Kennedy campaign. In mid-September, Clapton performed at a fundraising event for Kennedy "at a private estate in Los Angeles," where the price of admission was either $3,300 or $6,600 contribution to the candidate, according to a flyer.
Oliver Stone donated $6,600 in July to the Kennedy campaign. The director of Platoon, Wall Street, and JFK, among other popular movies, has given in the past to the presidential campaigns for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Obama, ex-Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), former Vice President Al Gore, plus various other Democrats. CNN host Chris Wallace notably confronted Stone almost a month ago over his prior interviews with Putin, stating, "You've been criticized for being too friendly and even fawning."
"Folks have a desire to elect someone who's anti-establishment," Republican strategist Kyle Plotkin said, adding that Kennedy supporters appear to be those favoring a "political realignment" and who don't neatly fit in with the two-party system.
"Kennedy has represented that," Plotkin said. That's why there is an attraction to him."
'COVID tyranny'
Kennedy also took $6,600 in late June from Wall Street veteran executive Omeed Malik, who reportedly took the candidate to a ritzy private dinner in Las Vegas at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino that featured political world movers and shakers, including Hillary Clinton, ex-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, ex-United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, ex-Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn, and Democratic megadonor Marc Lasry.
Malik has made various GOP donations over the years, including $3,300 to the 2024 presidential campaign for businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, disclosures show. He's also given to the 2024 campaign for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), a 2020 joint fundraising committee for Trump, and $2,800 to Biden's 2020 campaign. Malik's "anti-woke" firm, 1789 Capital, is reportedly invested in a new media venture planned by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel, co-founder of the Daily Caller and ex-chief policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney.
A source close to Malik told the Washington Examiner that his political views were "deeply shaped by the COVID-19 lockdowns and pushing of unconstitutional vaccine mandates, which caused him to move to Florida from New York State."
"He likes Robert F. Kennedy Jr because of his stance against the COVID-19 vaccine mandates and pushing back against Pharma's lies that the vaccine is effective, as the data shows it does not prevent COVID," the person said. "He does not agree with all of Mr. Kennedy's policies, but considers him a friend and appreciates his stance against COVID tyranny."
Other notable donors to Kennedy have included Sports Illustrated model Ashley Graham, computer scientist Paul Buchheit, who created Google's Gmail, and Elizabeth Uihlein, the Republican billionaire wife of Richard Uihlein, disclosures show.
Roughly $2.6 million of Kennedy's latest haul came from contributors in California, beating out other states, Politico reported, noting that nurses, psychologists, dentists, and physicians account for over $500,000 of his war chest to date. The candidate's wife, actress Cheryl Hines, has helped Kennedy tap into Hollywood's network. Hines appeared in an Instagram photo in August alongside actor Woody Harrelson, who sported a Kennedy 2024 hat.
"Kennedy's presence in the race is probably going to make the polls even harder to decipher because third-party candidates, particularly this far out from the election, often poll a lot higher than they end up actually performing," Kondik, the UVA political analyst, said.
The Kennedy campaign did not return a request for comment, nor did the DNC.
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The Republican National Committee pointed the Washington Examiner to its Oct. 9 statement upon Kennedy declaring as an independent.
"Make no mistake — a Democrat in Independent’s clothing is still a Democrat," the statement read, in part. "RFK Jr. cannot hide from his record of endorsing Hillary, supporting the Green New Deal, fighting against the Keystone Pipeline, and praising AOC’s tax hikes — he is your typical elitist liberal and voters won’t be fooled."