Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has accused the Democratic National Committee (DNC) of "anointing a candidate hand-picked by elites," amid President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the presidential race and the ascension of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrats' presumptive nominee. Kennedy has called for a return to an "open process" of selecting a nominee.

During an appearance on Fox News on July 22, Kennedy, who initially entered the race as a Democrat, argued that the DNC made a "strategic mistake" by overtly backing President Joe Biden. RFK Jr. cited various rule changes and the shutdown of primary votes, including in key states like Florida. In this regard, he drew controversial parallels to elections in Russia after Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race. (Related: RFK Jr. claims DNC is RIGGING presidential primaries to favor Biden.)

"A few weeks ago, President Biden was ridiculing Vladimir Putin, who won 88 percent of the vote in Russia, and he said that that was a fixed election because President Putin made sure that no adversaries could challenge him, and also that he had fixed the press so the press wouldn't cover his adversaries," Kennedy said. "The Democratic Party succeeded in doing the same thing."