Robert Kennedy Jr. will run as an independent candidate in the 2024 election

Robert Kennedy Jr. says he will give his opinion on a sea change in American politics. Photo: Getty/Mario Tama

U.S. presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. will announce he is running as an independent rather than continue his ambitious campaign to unseat President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party's nominee. The change could complicate the 2024 elections.

Kennedy, an anti-vaccination activist and scion of a legendary US political dynasty, posted a video on YouTube on Friday asking Americans to join him for a “big announcement” in Philadelphia October 9.

“I We will talk about fundamental changes in American politics,” he said, condemning corruption “in both parties.”

“How are we going to defeat the entrenched interests of Washington?” he is asking. “This is not a game” under current rules, he said.

Mr. Kennedy is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, and the son of former U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 during his own presidential campaign.

In April, Kennedy said he would challenge President Biden for the Democratic nomination to run against the Republican nominee, expected to be former President Donald Trump.

In April, Kennedy said he would challenge President Biden for the Democratic nomination. Photo: Shutterstock/ETIENNE LAURENT/EPA-EFE

Mr. Kennedy has since complained that the Democratic Party has “essentially merged into one” with the Biden campaign, disqualifying him from competing for the nomination.

Some opinion polls show Mr. Biden with a significant lead over Mr. Kennedy by single- and low-double-digit percentages.

Mr. Kennedy's plan to run as an independent instead was first reported by Mediaite , a political website.

When asked about the report, the Kennedy campaign responded with a link to its video.

Democrats have expressed concern that any third-party proposal could take votes away from Biden. He is 80 and faces concerns about the economy and his age in an expected rematch against GOP front-runner and presumptive nominee Trump, 77.

But Republicans like Kennedy better than Democrats by a wide margin . Opinion polling by FiveThirtyEight suggests it could impact Trump's re-election campaign as well.

Mr Trump faces four criminal charges, including charges that he illegally tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat year, and his campaign is losing money on legal fees.