Topline
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. left a bear cub carcass in Central Park a decade ago in a bizarre prank that, until now, mystified Manhattanites and the NYPD, the New Yorker reported Monday, as Kennedy charges ahead with his longshot presidential campaign despite single-digit poll numbers.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at the Libertarian National … [+]
Key Facts
Kennedy said he found the dead bear—which authorities previously determined was about 6 months old—on the side of the road in upstate New York and decided to retrieve the carcass, according to the New Yorker.
Kennedy on Sunday tweeted a video of him explaining to actress Roseanne Barr that he picked up the bear after a woman driving in front of him hit and killed the animal, and that he planned to skin and eat it, writing “looking forward to seeing how you spin this one @NewYorker.”
In the video, Kennedy admitted to Barr that he didn’t have time to properly store the bear, so he and his friends instead dropped it in Central Park along with an old bike to make it appear as if the bear was hit by a cyclist, thinking “it would be amusing.”
He posed for a photo (featured in the New Yorker) of himself sitting in the trunk of his car with his fingers in the bear’s mouth, before he hauled the dead animal back to New York City.
At the time, the bear’s discovery in Central Park was the latest rare New York City wildlife sighting to capture headlines for a brief time, until authorities concluded the bear was hit by a car and likely brought to the park after it was killed—but why or by whom was never publicly determined.
Central Park Conservancy spokesperson Elizabeth Kaledin called the bear’s discovery—initially made by a dog walker—“beyond upsetting” at the time, noting that black bears aren’t kept in the Central Park Zoo and aren’t native to the park.
Crucial Quote
“The next day, it was like, it was on every television station, it was the front page of every paper,” Kennedy told Barr. “I turned on the TV and there was like a mile of yellow tape and there were 20 cop cars, there were helicopters flying over it, and I was like ‘Oh my God, what did I do?’”
Surprising Fact
Kennedy joked to the New Yorker that perhaps the bear gave him his infamous “brain worm.” The New York Times in May unearthed divorce records from 2012 in which Kennedy detailed “cognitive problems” in a court deposition, explaining a doctor determined a worm “ate a portion” of his brain then died inside his skull.
Tangent
Kennedy texted an apology last month to a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s, after Vanity Fair published an article about the allegations in which he said he did not remember the incident. “I apologize sincerely for anything I ever did that made you feel uncomfortable or anything I did or said that offended you or hurt your feelings,” according to screenshots of the texts the woman shared with Forbes. The woman told Vanity Fair Kennedy groped her on two separate occasions when she was working as a live-in babysitter for his family.
Key Background
Kennedy initially launched his campaign as a Democrat, then switched to run as an independent in October. Appealing to voters of both parties, as well as independents, with his conflicting political views—favoring abortion but making medically disputed suggestions that vaccines could be dangerous, for example—Kennedy has drawn votes from both the Trump and Biden-Harris campaigns in polls. He polled at 5% in a recent New York Times/Siena poll, his worst showing since the groups ’ began asking respondents if they would vote for him. The poll found Kennedy appeared to draw more votes from former President Donald Trump than Vice President Kamala Harris, who pulled ahead by one point with him and other third-party candidates on the ballot, but trailed Trump by one point in a hypothetical two-way matchup.
What To Watch For
Fifteen states so far have granted Kennedy ballot access, according to The New York Times. Without the backing of a political party that already has ballot access, Kennedy Jr. must petition to be on the ballot in most states. He has pending ballot efforts in about 15 other states.
Further Reading
RFK Jr. Says A Worm Infected His Brain—Here’s What We Know About The Possible Parasite (Forbes)
RFK Jr Texts Apology To Woman Who Accused Him Of Sexual Assault (Forbes)
RFK Jr. Will Receive Secret Service Protection Days After Trump Assassination Attempt (Forbes)
2022 midterms, 2024 presidential campaign, the January 6 House committee investigation, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s historic ouster, the 2023 State of the Union Address, former President Donald Trump’s federal election interference and classified documents cases and his Manhattan hush money case. Dorn graduated in 2012 from the University of Dayton with a degree in journalism. Prior to joining Forbes, she covered New York City and state politics for the New York Post and City and State magazine. Follow her for updates and analysis on the 2024 presidential race, key Senate and House races and developments in Congress and at the White House.
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