‘Rescue the Republic’ Rally Sparks Enthusiasm for Kennedy, Gabbard and the Growing MAHA Movement

By The Kennedy Beacon

Washington, D.C. – On an overcast September 30, a resolute crowd of roughly 6,500 gathered at the National Mall, near the Washington Monument, joined by over one million via an array of livestreams, for Rescue the Republic. 

The rally, which featured Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, and Republican Senator Ron Johnson, among others, focused on a bundle of issues important to followers of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, which seeks to liberate truth across medicine, military and more.

Kennedy was the catalytic unifier, outlining the importance of the eight pillars of the Rescue the Republic platform. Among its priorities: protecting free speech. The act of assembly was itself a defiant call to continue dialoguing and speaking out about issues the current regime prefers to address in whispers, if at all. 

While the day was overcast, with rain an unrealized threat, a gray quietness amplified the colorful shades of independence sounded loudly by challengers of the status quo: Jordan B. Peterson; Bret Weinstein; Robert W. Malone, MD; Col. Douglas Macgregor; Jimmy Dore; Brandon Straka; Dave Rubin; Lara Logan; Matt Taibbi; Jack Posobiec; and more. 

“It doesn’t matter what side we are on politically,” said Kerry Sloane, a firearms instructor and founder of We the Female, dedicated to helping women invest in their safety and health through gun ownership. Sloane feels that debates around political ideologies distract from real solutions that allow citizens to practice their inalienable rights.

Gabbard, former Hawaiian Congresswoman and now Independent public advocate, and Sen. Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, took to the stage to voice support for the values that underpin MAHA. Their participation was a sign of solidarity with former president Trump.

As supporters chanted “Bobby,” Kennedy reminded the crowd of the litany of transgressions by the federal government and corporations during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Nobody ever complied their way out of totalitarianism,” Kennedy said, to an appreciative crowd. “What are we going to do when they try to do this again? We are going to resist, resist, resist!”

“Reist, resist, resist!” The audience echoed.

Continued Kennedy, “We enriched these corporations and their captive agencies. And now they want to go and commoditize all of the things we value in our lives.” Sounding the themes that inspired the MAHA movement, Kennedy added, “They’ve commoditized the constitution. They have turned the courts into servants for authority instead of the servants for the people. They have commoditized the press and turned the press away from the First Amendment and into propagandists. They’re commoditizing our health. And, they’re commoditizing our children.” 

Kennedy reminded his audience that U.S. corporations have made America the sickest country in the world.

 The rally had a welcome humorous side, too. Kennedy supporter Rob Schneider, the comedian and author of You Can Do It!, playfully threaded the event’s long roster of speakers. Russell Brand and Tyler Fischer also added spice – as did an eclectic array of musical acts, including Skillet, Struggling Jennings, Zuby, and DPAK. 

Sloan, with tears in her eyes, praised the gathering’s diversity and vibe. “You go into that crowd, you see Trump supporters, you see Kennedy supporters, you see Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians – who all came together for the common good of the people,” she said. “We need more of that.”

Following the main program, Gabbard and Peterson joined Kennedy for an intimate evening conversation at the InterContinental Hotel at the Wharf, a popular Washington D.C. area known for its cultural and dining options. Peterson donned a flashy jacket, upstaging his half-blue, half-red jacket from earlier in the day. Moderator Brand did not fail to deliver his recherché flair. 

Gabbard, a one-time Democrat, explained what drove her to become a political independent: “How could I continue to be aligned with a political party that no longer believes in the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, the Second Amendment?” 

Reflecting on how the priorities of the Democratic party have shifted and no longer align with her core beliefs, Gabbard added, “Really the choice is not between Democrats and Republicans in this election, but a choice between warmongers with Kamala Harris as their figurehead, and the anti-warmongers with President Trump ready to take on the military industrial complex, put the power back in the hands of the people, and work towards peace.”

Pro-Trump paraphernalia peppered the crowd, but it was clear that everyone was a supporter of Kennedy’s MAHA movement. 

Richard Margolis, a retired psychologist and volunteer coordinator for Team Kennedy in Palm Beach Country, Florida, circulated with a Kennedy cap, Kennedy pins, and a Kennedy shirt. He looked ready to canvas for the former presidential candidate, if the opportunity arose. 

“The issues are existential, " Margolis said, referencing many of Kennedy’s long-held beliefs. “They have everything to do with our everyday lives. The forever wars. The forever chemicals. The toxins not only in our environment, but the toxic political environment we all live in.” 

He admires Bobby and Tulsi, he added, for bucking the current climate and speaking up for initiatives that have the potential to find commonality among all Americans. “It’s time for us to unite,” he stressed. “We’re one country. It’s time.”

Maddie Garvia, a holistic nutritionist who has mobilized Kennedy supporters in Michigan and Florida, feels Americans can learn from the MAHA movement. “If everyone could listen to the message without looking at it not as a Democrat or Republican, but as an American, I think we can all agree that we can unify around this,” she said, referring to MAHA’s commitment to fighting the epidemic of chronic illness and improving health for all. 

“It was hard when Kennedy dropped out,” Garvia admitted. But will she vote for Trump? She said she will support the candidate most willing to listen to Kennedy and Gabbard. At this moment, that appears to be the former president.