Anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is complaining that the Biden administration isn't providing him with Secret Service protection, despite the fact that historically such protection is only granted to candidates once they win the nomination of a major party.
"Since the assassination of my father in 1968, candidates for president are provided Secret Service protection," wrote Kennedy Jr. on Twitter. "But not me. Typical turnaround time for pro forma protection requests from presidential candidates is 14-days. After 88-days of no response and after several follow-ups by our campaign, the Biden Administration just denied our request."
However, two journalists who understand the history of Secret Service protection for presidential candidates were quick to point out that RFK Jr.'s claims are nonsensical.
"Presidential candidates generally don’t get USSS protection until year of election, and only if likely nominee," writes the Washington Post's Michael Scherer. "Obama was the exception in May of 2007. DHS and a panel of congressional leaders decide."
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"Almost always, candidates receive protection around when they become the nominee, unless there is a major threat assessment before," writes CNN's Edward-Isaac Devore. "In 2020, Biden, Buttigieg and several others employed private security through the primaries. Biden got his detail a while after Super Tuesday."
