© Associated PressPresident Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In the discussion with CNN Tonight host Don Lemon on Dec. 14, Lemon noted that Microsoft founder Bill Gates had said Trump could be another JFK and asked Robert Kennedy Jr. if he thought a comparison could be made between the Kennedys and the Trumps.
Kennedy said, "Well, I think Donald Trump can be, you know, any kind of president he wants. He's actually -- he has this extraordinary opportunity because he's coming into office less burdened by obligation than probably any president in our history with the possible exception of Andrew Jackson."
"And you know, both of them, Jackson and Trump came in, they were -- people were sickened, they were outraged when Jackson came in and they thought it was the end of the world and he became a -- unless you were an American-Indian, he became a very good president in defending the country against corporate power and really democratizing America in many ways," said Kennedy.
Trump does not have obligations, he said, and if Trump cares about history, "he could really be an extraordinary president."
Kennedy further said that Americans want the idealistic and positive leadership that they saw in JFK and they also want the country to "get rid of this bullying and this bellicose, pugnacious foreign policy."
"Do you think Trump can do that?" said CNN's Lemon.
Kennedy answered. "I think he can do that. You know, I think he can do anything he wants because he is not -- he is not bound by ideology. He is less bound by ideology than any president probably that we've had this century."
"[H]e said to Leonardo DiCaprio the other day that he wanted to be the next Teddy Roosevelt, and he can easily do that," said Kennedy.
Lemon then said, "I just have about 10 seconds here, but do you think the new Kennedys, do you think that's a fair comparison?"
Kennedy said, "Like I said, I think he can be any kind of president he wants. I think he could be the greatest president in history if he wanted to."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 63, is a liberal Democrat who specializes in environmental law. He is the son of the late RFK and nephew to the late JFK and to Sen. Ted Kennedy, who died in 2009.
Comment: Brave words that may not come to fruition. Trump, as Kennedy's uncle before him, has gravely underestimated the powers ranged against his vision for America.