What Bobby Said: In a Rare Uncut Video Clip, RFK Jr. Rails Against Big Polluters

As Earth Day turns fifty-four, we celebrate Kennedy’s environmental legacy

By Leah Watson, The Kennedy Beacon

In an uncut 2014 interview with former Republican political aide Marc Morano, Kennedy stands near Columbus Circle in New York City, on Earth Day, at the People’s Climate March. He reflects on the evolution of the environmental movement and rails against big polluters.

“I remember what it was like then,” says an animated Kennedy, referring to the first Earth Day in 1970, also in NYC. “The Lake Erie was declared dead, the Cuyahoga River was burning, the Santa Barbara oil spill had destroyed the beaches in Southern California,” says an animated Kennedy. 

Kennedy recalls how there was little hope that things would change. However, the creation of “Earth Day” inspired some 20 million Americans to take to the streets and protest against pollutants, oil spills, and factory emissions in an effort to protect and preserve the planet. 

“Over the next 10 years we passed 28 major environmental laws in this country that protect our air, water, wildlife, fisheries [and] public lands,” Kennedy tells Morano. 

Kennedy grows passionate and angry when asked about big polluters, expressing disdain for large polluters, including companies like Shell, Exxon, and Chevron. He’s especially irate about the Koch brothers, accusing them of feeding millions of dollars into the political process so that in return, politicians do the Koch brothers’ bidding and promote climate crisis skepticism. When asked about ‘skeptic’ politicians, Kennedy calls such people “contemptible human beings” and says he wishes there was an existing law that could punish them.

Since then, Kennedy has re-thought some of his views on the environment and climate change.

“Having seen what happened with COVID, if I had known that back then I probably would not have made that speech,” said Kennedy in an interview on ReasonTV with Nick Gillespie and Zach Weissmueller. 

“There's a lot of things that I know now, that I think the issue is more complex today than it seemingly was at that point,” said Kennedy, expressing regret about statements he made in 2014. 

In a recent interview with Politico, Kennedy spoke about creating a climate policy that “makes sense to skeptics and activists alike.” He also told Politico that he wants to roll back President Biden’s climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, which is funding carbon capture projects supported by the fossil fuel industry. 

Still, Kennedy remains committed to the environment. His chief environmental policy concerns include ending the corporate capture of environmental regulatory agencies (including the EPA and USDA); reducing toxic chemical pollution and plastic waste; and protecting rivers, forests, fisheries, and wildlife habitats from corporate abuse.