Robert F. Kennedy Jr on Monday announced he will run for president as an independent, and will no longer challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination for US president.

Kennedy, founder and chairman-on-leave from Children’s Health Défense, made the announcement in Philadelphia, about a week after news first leaked of his impending break with the Democratic Party.

Kennedy’s remarks Monday centered around the theme of independence. He told the crowd: “Because I am independent of the big polluters, I will be able to clean up our soil, air, and water. Because I am independent of the corporations, I’ll be able to unravel the capture of our federal agencies. I’ve been fighting corporate corruption and suing government agencies for 40 years. I know how they work and I know how to clean them up.”

Kennedy said Americans are “fed up with being fooled, and they are ready to take back their power.”

He also said most Americans are tired of divisive politics and that they agree more than they disagree when it comes to issues like the environment, education and the economy.

“We agree that we want a clean environment and wholesome communities for our kids,” Kennedy said.

He accused both parties of being beholden to corporate donors, telling the crowd: “How can we guard life when for-profit corporations have captured the public agencies that are supposed to protect us? How can we enjoy liberty when a surveillance state seeks to hide the truth and quash dissent?”

He urged listeners to sign their own declarations of independence: “We declare independence from the corporations that have hijacked our government. We declare independence from Wall Street, Big Tech, Big Pharma, Big Ag, the military contractors, and their lobbyists. We declare independence from the mercenary media that fortifies corporate orthodoxies and urges us to hate our neighbours and fear our friends.”

Kennedy announced his run for the Democratic nomination for president on April 20, in Boston, with the promise to “reduce chronic disease in children.”

He launched his campaign with a two-hour speech that covered a wide range of issues — everything from his family’s history in American politics, to the military-industrial complex, to widespread censorship, and to the attacks on civil liberties, the environment and public health.

Throughout his speech, Kennedy frequently referred to how all of these issues directly affect children. He reminded the audience of the obligation America’s leaders have to protect children – from toxic pesticides, from dangerous pharmaceuticals and from the “corrupt merger of state and corporate power” that rob future generations of their health and of their ability to achieve financial security.

The Defender on occasion posts content related to Children’s Health Défense’s nonprofit mission that features Mr Kennedy’s views on the issues CHD and The Defender regularly cover. In keeping with Federal Election Commission rules, this content does not represent an endorsement of Mr Kennedy who is on leave from CHD and is running as an independent for president of the US.

• The Defender report