RFK Jr.: 'FDR Met With Stalin ... Reagan Met With Gorbachev. Can't Biden Meet With Putin?' (June 20, 2023)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was still running against President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination when he made the case for talking to Moscow. “Today, America has broken off practically all diplomatic contact with Russia, so the communication has indeed become a little more than an exchange of threats and insults,” Kennedy said at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, according to the New Hampshire Journal, as published by Stars and Stripes [1].

“FDR met with Stalin. JFK met with Khrushchev Nixon met with Brezhnev. Reagan met with Gorbachev,” Kennedy said. “Can’t Biden meet with Putin?” [1]

The video above shows Kennedy’s speech on foreign policy on June 20, 2023. Quotes are as reported by the New Hampshire Journal via Stars and Stripes, and from transcripts published by the American Presidency Project [1][2][3].

”I Abhor Russia’s Brutal and Bloody Invasion”

Kennedy did not defend the war. “I abhor Russia’s brutal and bloody invasion of that nation,” he said. “But we must understand that our government has also contributed to its circumstances with repeated, deliberate provocations of Russia going back to the 1990s.” [1]

He blamed leaders of both parties. “Democratic and Republican administrations have pushed NATO to Russia’s borders, violated our own solemn promise in the early nineties when we pledged that if Russia made this terrible concession of moving 400,000 troops out of East Germany and allowing the unification of Germany under a possible NATO army. And we would commit that after that not move NATO one inch to the east,” Kennedy said [1].

“Instead, we have moved it — not one inch, but a thousand miles and 14 nations. We have surrounded Russia with missiles and military bases, something that we would never tolerate if the Russians did that to us,” he said [1].

He also went after the “military-industrial complex.” The crowd cheered when he declared, “It’s time to reverse that!” the paper reported [1].

”No One Wants Biden”

The crowd was so big the speech started late. “Attendance at Kennedy’s event was so large — an estimated 700 people, according to campus sources — his speech had to be delayed for 30 minutes to find overflow space to accommodate the crowd,” the New Hampshire Journal reported [1].

Voters in line had a message for the President. “I’m not voting for Biden,” said Jeffrey Parker of Concord, Massachusetts. “If it was a real vote, if it’s a fair election, Biden has no hope. Even Democrats are sick of Biden now. No one wants Biden.” [1]

Matt Burgess of Massachusetts offered strategy. “I think he should stick to doing podcasts. Don’t go on any mainstream networks…I think he should keep with the strategy he’s going with,” Burgess said. “I think he can win.” [1]

“He speaks a lot of truth, and he’s a very personable human being,” said Mike Sweeney of Albany, New Hampshire. Asked whether Kennedy could beat Biden, Sweeney said: “One hundred percent. We wouldn’t be here otherwise.” [1]

Liz Parker pointed to the word missing in Washington. “No one in government right now is saying the word ‘peace,’ and I think that says it all,” she said [1].

By the Numbers

• 4: past presidents Kennedy said met Soviet or Russian leaders [1].
• 14: nations Kennedy said NATO had expanded to since the 1990s pledge [1].
• 700: people at the speech, per campus sources [1].
• 30 minutes: the delay to find overflow space [1].

What Happened Next

Kennedy joined Trump. Kennedy left the Democratic race and, after Trump’s victory, became his Secretary of Health and Human Services. On Feb. 13, 2025, “Supreme Court justice Neil Gorsuch swore in Kennedy at 2:52,” the White House pool reported, as Trump “defended Kennedy’s views on health care” [2]. Trump “announced a new commission called the ‘President’s commission to make America healthy again,’ which Kennedy will chair,” the pool reported [2].

Trump met Putin. On Aug. 15, 2025, Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska. “I believe we had a very productive meeting. There were many, many points that we agreed on—most of them, I would say. A couple of big ones that we haven’t quite gotten there, but we’ve made some headway. So there’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said [3].

Putin described his greeting. “When I came out of the plane and I said: ‘Good afternoon, dear neighbor. Very good to see you in good health and to see you alive,’ I think that is very neighborly,” he said [3].

“I’ve always had a fantastic relationship with President Putin, with Vladimir. We had many, many tough meetings, good meetings,” Trump said. “We were interfered with by the ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ hoax that made it a little bit tougher to deal with, but he understood it,” Trump said of Putin [3]. “We’ve become the hottest country anywhere in the world in a very short period of time,” Trump added [3].

“I will call up NATO in a little while,” Trump said. “And I’ll, of course, call up President Zelenskyy and tell him about today’s meeting. It’s ultimately up to them.” [3]

For Biden on Putin’s nuclear treaty pullout, see HYGO News’ page on Warsaw.

Sources

1. Stars and Stripes (New Hampshire Journal via Tribune News Service): RFK Jr. abhors Russia’s invasion but says US provoked Putin (June 21, 2023)
2. The American Presidency Project: Pool Reports of February 13, 2025
3. The American Presidency Project: Remarks to Reporters With President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of Russia in Anchorage, Alaska (August 15, 2025)