A super PAC supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential bid is firing back at allegations made by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) by launching billboards in the battleground state of Michigan.
American Values 2024, which is headed by co-founder Tony Lyons, unveiled the nine billboards Wednesday. They come in response to allegations made by the DNC that the PAC’s recent Super Bowl ad promoting Kennedy was bankrolled by Tim Mellon, a mega-donor supporting former President Trump.
The nine billboards feature a picture of Kennedy on the left side. On the right, Trump and President Biden are both included. In the middle, the text says “RFK Jr.” and “Let the best man win, Tim.”
“President Biden’s sinking approval rating and plummeting polling numbers nationally and in key battleground states like Michigan have triggered unprecedented panic in both the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee,” Lyons said.
American Values 2024 ran a 30-second spot during the NFL championship game, which cost $7 million and leaned into the legacy of former President John F. Kennedy.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer, later apologized to his family members for the ad.
“It is fitting that the first national ad promoting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s candidacy was bought and paid for by Donald Trump’s largest donor this cycle,” DNC spokesperson Alex Floyd said following the Super Bowl ad.
The major backer and the creative source for the ad was Nicole Shanahan, a Bay Area lawyer and Democratic donor who gave $4 million to Kennedy’s outside group.
Before the Super Bowl, the DNC launched billboards in Michigan, hitting Kennedy over his super PAC getting $15 million in donations from Mellon, a transportation executive, who also donated $10 million to MAGA Inc., a Trump-aligned super PAC, in 2023.
The billboard campaign came shortly after the DNC accused American Values 2024 and Kennedy of illegally coordinating, alleging the independent candidate is getting improper benefits from the outside group that is helping him get on the ballot in all 50 states.
“The DNC and the super PACS and Think Tanks that it’s connected to are also waging an all-out assault on voting rights,” Lyons said. “The unhinged DNC is playing political games that pose an existential threat to democracy at the same time that they claim to be trying to protect it.”
The DNC promptly hit back at the pro-Kennedy PAC on Wednesday.
“RFK Jr. isn’t fooling anyone,” said DNC spokesperson Alex Floyd. “He’s powered and bankrolled by the same extreme MAGA donor as Donald Trump, and Trump’s allies have already called him a useful chaos agent in this election. Michiganders deserve better than a stalking horse for extreme MAGA Republicans.”
