Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, but the super political action committee supporting his candidacy has received half its funds so far from a major Republican donor.
Timothy Mellon, the head of a transportation holding company and the grandson of industrialist and former Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon, donated $5 million to American Values 2024 in April, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission. Mellon has contributed tens of millions to super PACs connected to former President Donald Trump and GOP congressional leadership in recent elections.
In a 2015 book describing his conservative political views, Mellon referred to social safety net programs as “Slavery Redux,” and claimed that government efforts to alleviate poverty and respond to racism in the 1960s and 1970s made Black people “even more belligerent” than before, according to a report by The Washington Post.
Kennedy, the son of the late New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, has made a name for himself as an environmental and anti-vaccine activist. He’s running against President Joe Biden in the Democratic primary. But his bid has attracted more positive attention from those on the right who see him as a useful tool to divide Democrats, many of whom have reservations about Biden’s renomination.
Top GOP presidential candidates have stuck their necks out to praise Kennedy and urge him to stay in the race against Biden. Trump called Kennedy a “common-sense guy” who should “hang in” the race. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would “sic” Kennedy on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the Food and Drug Administration, for their roles during the COVID pandemic and in approving vaccines.
American Values 2024 touted the contribution from Mellon as a sign of “bi-partisan support” that shows Kennedy’s “ability to unite the country.”
Behind Mellon, the group’s second largest donor is Gavin de Becker, the renowned security consultant who most recently gained attention for his work for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. De Becker’s contributions total $4.5 million.
Other large contributions include more than $150,000 from Skyhorse Publishing, a company owned by American Values 2024 co-founder Tony Lyons, and $100,000 from Abby Rockefeller, an environmental activist and great-granddaughter of Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller.