'I Feel Sorry for You Guys Having to Listen to Me': RFK Jr. Explains Why His Voice Is So Raspy
Democratic presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. explained the reason behind his trademark raspy voice during a town hall event with voters on Wednesday night.
Kennedy told the audience of NewsNation’s town hall in Chicago that he suffers from a neurological condition called spasmodic dysphonia.
To open the evening, host Elizabeth Vargas stated, “Your voice is raspy. Why don’t you explain to our audience why?”
Kennedy was open about the degeneration of his vocal cords, which he said started in the mid-1990s.
“I had a very, very strong voice until I was 46 years old,” he said. “It was unusually strong. Even at that time, I was making a lot of my income doing public speaking and I could speak to large halls without any amplification.”
But the candidate said his voice deteriorated rapidly.
“In 1996, when I was 42 years old, I got struck with a disease — a neurological disease, an injury — called spasmodic dysphonia. And it makes my voice tremble,” the now-69-year-old said.
Kennedy said at first “I didn’t know what was wrong.”
He recalled how he was sent letters from people who had heard him speak informing him that he had spasmodic dysphonia.
A consultation with a doctor who was famous for treating the condition eventually confirmed the diagnosis.
“I think it makes it [problematic] for people to listen to me. I cannot listen to myself on TV. I will never listen to this broadcast,” Kennedy said.
He added, “So I feel sorry for you guys having to listen to me.”
.@RobertKennedyJr. explains how he came to have a raspy voice, noting a neurological disease in his 40s.
Watch live: https://t.co/ulvWgXBU0l #RFKTownHall pic.twitter.com/NoIguoJhR3
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) June 29, 2023
Kennedy further explained that the condition was actually worse until a recent surgical procedure he underwent in Japan.
“It made my voice much better, which you probably won’t believe. But it was much worse than this before,” Kennedy told NewsNation’s audience.
Johns Hopkins says spasmodic dysphonia “causes involuntary spasms in the muscles of the voice box or larynx. This causes the voice to break and have a tight, strained or strangled sound.”
In spite of the issues with his voice, Kennedy’s message is resonating with Democrats — most of whom don’t want President Joe Biden to run for re-election in 2024.
According to the Real Clear Politics average of polls, Kennedy is currently polling at around 15 percent in the Democratic primary.
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