Kennedy, Shanahan and Comedians Rev Up Crowds in Nashville

By Melissa Orrison, The Kennedy Beacon

Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his vice presidential running mate, Nicole Shanahan, hosted “A Night of Country and Comedy” at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry, also known as the “Mother Church of Country Music.”

The May 15 event marked the third comedy show to benefit Kennedy’s bid for the presidency. “These comedians have a gift,” Kennedy said to a raucous crowd. “God wants us to laugh.”

He thanked his “motley mob” of comics for contributing to the momentum of his campaign. Comedies on hand included Rob Schneider, Russell Brand, Jim Breuer, Dave Landau, Jeff Dye, Mike Binder, Tre Stewart, and Steve Bird, who entertained the audience of over 2,000. 

Later, Kayley Bishop, from season 15 of The Voice, performed, “Rewrite your Story.” The song’s lyrics, “You dream of freedom, but think you’re not worthy… You can rewrite your story, you can turn pain to glory,” amplified the Kennedy-Shanahan campaign message of hope and recovery for America. 

British comic Russell Brand opened by acknowledging that when Elvis Presley performed at the Ryman, he “was censored from the waist down. Bobby is censored from the neck up.” Brand went on to criticize the legacy media, as well as the COVID-19 lockdowns, musing that he previously believed that communism had ended with the Cold War. 

Rob Schneider wowed the crowd with his impressions of Elvis’s singing voice. He was excited to perform on Kennedy’s behalf, noting that many famous comedians had “refused to perform here, in the freest country in the world,” for which he blamed the Democratic party’s vendetta against Bobby. 

Schenider said of Kennedy, “It’s tough, what RFK Jr. is putting himself through with the media and his own family. They’re afraid of tyranny, but it’s already here.” 

Comedian Steve Bird addressed the latest media smear. “If the worm entered Biden’s brain, it would starve,” he joked. Comedian Mike Binder encouraged the audience to get injected with their commemorative RFK Jr. brain worm, which would “guarantee you could beat Biden in a debate.”

During the intermission, a video clip played in which Kennedy and others discussed “stopping the bullshit,” which expressed well Americans’ frustration with the status quo and the two-party system. As Schneider put it, “people are waking up.”

Despite addressing the ills of society, and poking good natured fun at Trump and Biden, the comedians ended their routines on positive notes. Schneider said, “I support Bobby Kennedy and Nicole Shanahan, not because we agree on every issue, but because we don’t.” He added, “Kennedy and Shanahan will approach their roles of president and VP by using evidence to determine what is best for the American people.”

Shanahan closed the show by announcing her $8 million dollar contribution for ballot access, saying she is doing it to “ensure Americans get a third choice” in the 2024 election. 

Emphasizing her commitment to working with Kennedy to heal the divided nation, Shanahan said, “How awesome would it be for us to just break bread and remember how lucky we are to be in this country?” 

Melissa Orrison is a journalist who co-presented “The Kennedy Tragedies Through a Risk Management Lens,” at In2Risk 2022 in San Francisco, California. She has also worked in higher education and tourism. She lives in Georgia with her husband and son.