RFK Jr. Says Democratic Party 'Lost Its Way' in Republican Convention Speech

US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. used an address to a Republican midterm convention in Dallas to sharply criticise the Democratic Party, saying it had drifted from the principles associated with his father and uncle.

Kennedy, the son of former US attorney general Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, opened his remarks by acknowledging the unusual nature of his appearance. He said that for most of his 72 years he would have wagered heavily against ever speaking at a Republican gathering, describing the irony of his presence as inescapable. He recalled attending his first Democratic convention in 1960, at the age of six, and most of the party's conventions thereafter.

"The Democratic Party, in short, lost its way," he said, adding that he regretted that neither his father nor his uncle would recognise the party as it stands today. He argued that the divide in American politics was no longer a matter of left and right but of what he called sane and insane.

Kennedy also took aim at the process by which the party selected its recent presidential candidate, claiming that no voter had cast a primary ballot for Kamala Harris and that no elected delegate had been consulted. He described the party as having anointed a leader hand-picked by secretive elites whose identities were unknown.

He said conversations during his own campaign had changed its course and his life, leading him to conclude that many of the Democratic Party's foundational values had found a new home in the Republican Party. His remarks drew loud cheers and applause from the audience.

The convention, held over two days in Dallas, was intended to energise Republican candidates ahead of the midterm elections by highlighting President Donald Trump's first two years in office. Trump has argued that campaigning on his record remains the party's strongest strategy, despite low approval ratings.