The official launch of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s independent presidential campaign went off the rails when he thought his speech on the teleprompter was "upside down."
With a hint of panic, he began patting his pockets, clearly searching for something crucial. He then turned to someone off-stage and exclaimed:
"I need my speech."
In the background, his supporters chanted, "All the Way RFK," a nostalgic nod to his late uncle President John F. Kennedy's famous slogan. The situation took a cringey twist when Kennedy Jr. could be overheard telling someone:
"I can't read anything."
It remained unclear what precisely had gone wrong, but it seemed the teleprompter was experiencing technical difficulties, prompting Kennedy Jr. to complain:
"It's upside down."
You can watch the moment in the video below.
With his speech finally in hand, Kennedy Jr. regrouped and returned to the stage to continue his announcement, marking the end of his challenge to President Bideon in the Democratic primary and the beginning of his independent run.
The situation nonetheless exposed the noted anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist to significant mockery online.
The incident was reminiscent of Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis' entrance into the race during a glitch-ridden event hosted by Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of X, formerly Twitter.
Musk had envisioned a moment of triumph as he played host to DeSantis in a Twitter Spaces gathering, aimed at announcing the latter's presidential bid.
But the occasion swiftly devolved into a mortifying debacle, marred by vexing technical hiccups, inadvertent microphone mishaps, and fragmented exchanges that persisted for over 20 minutes before abruptly vanishing. Eventually, the livestream recommenced, leaving a multitude of listeners in suspense, eagerly awaiting even a solitary utterance from DeSantis.
The situation proved so humiliating for DeSantis that the hashtag #Desaster soon spread across numerous posts on the social media platform.
@kirstendunst/Instagram