Eric Clapton's Concert Supporting RFK Jr.’s Presidential Campaign Raised an Incredible $2.2 Million

Robert F. Kennedy's presidential campaign received almost $2 million from singer Eric Clapton at a private event held last week Monday night in Los Angeles. As per The Hollywood Reporter, $1 million will go to his campaign, and $1.2 million will go to a PAC that backs him. Kennedy said in a press release, "I am deeply grateful to Eric Clapton for bringing his musical artistry and rebellious spirit to my gathering in Los Angeles last night. I sometimes think that in our divided society, it is music rather than any kind of intellectual agreement that has the most potential to bring us together again... Eric sings from the depths of the human condition."

The rock guitar legend, like Kennedy, has, time and time again, utilized his massive platform to actively discredit professional medical advice. Clapton said he was having brief adverse reactions to the AstraZeneca vaccination but then went into detail about symptoms he'd documented as early as 2013 and had attributed to neurological issues, as per The Washington Post. He argued against implementing lockdowns and made questionable statements concerning the 'safety of vaccines,' as per NBC News. 

In the year 2021, Clapton also made a series of videos on a friend's YouTube channel in which he called studies, expert opinions, and public health recommendations praising vaccines 'propaganda.' He further went on to pledge not to perform for 'discriminated audiences' in places that require proof of vaccination. In fact, in an article written by Rolling Stone's David Browne, Clapton comes off as a conspiracy peddler. Browne also said to NBC, "He’s been so relentless with this vax stuff. It’s been a year now of making statements and videos. And he hasn’t let up. And after a while, it became a question of ‘what is going on here?’"

In 2021, Kennedy was named as one of the 'Disinformation Dozen,' a list of the 12 most prominent internet propagandists for COVID-19. Instagram also suspended Kennedy's account that year for disseminating misinformation but reinstated it in June because of his presidential campaign. Kennedy erroneously claimed in December 2021 that the COVID-19 vaccine was 'the deadliest vaccine ever made,' as per PolitiFact, based on data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, one of the country's vaccine safety monitoring systems. However, the veracity of these reports was questioned as the VAERS website itself stated very clearly that these reports, on their own, are not a suitable metric for determining the safety of vaccines. 

At a recent rally in South Carolina, Kennedy informed supporters that the Democratic National Committee was doing 'everything in its power' to prevent him from receiving the party's nomination. He said that, as a result, he is 'keeping all (his) options open' with respect to a possible independent candidacy. Kennedy told ABC, "They’re trying to make sure that I can’t participate at all in the political process, and so I’m going to keep all my options open."

With a 50% lead over Kennedy in national surveys, current President Joe Biden is widely expected to be the Democratic candidate for the upcoming elections. However, surveys also reveal rising concerns about Biden's health and age: 77% of Americans, including 69% of Democrats, agreed in a recent AP survey that Biden is too elderly to serve another term.