Independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, Jr. makes brief, late stop in Nashville

Third party presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on stage at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Citing a family emergency in Florida, third party presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. arrived four hours late for a Nashville campaign fundraising event on Wednesday.

Kennedy’s “A Night of Comedy” featured comedians including former Saturday Night Live cast members Rob Schneider and Jim Breuer and Russell Brand.

Nicole Shanahan, a veteran of the tech industry and Kennedy’s running mate, took the stage just before 11 p.m., followed by Kennedy, who spoke to the crowd — which had thinned significantly since the 7 p.m. start time — for less than 15 minutes. Kennedy did not address any themes of his campaign.

Kennedy, who is on the presidential ballot in six states, has not qualified for Tennessee’s ballot. The deadline to qualify for the November election is August 15.

Photojournalist John Partipilo covered the event.

Four hours after his fundraising comedy show was scheduled to begin, Robert Kennedy, Jr. took the stage at the Ryman Auditorium. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Nicole Shanahan, vice presidential candidate on an independent ticket with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., arrives at the Ryman Auditorium's stage door. (Photo: John Partipilo)

A Robert Kennedy, Jr. supporter waits in the Ryman Auditorium lobby next to a poster depicting Kennedy and wife Cheryl Hines as Grant Wood painting, American Gothic. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Outside the Kennedy event in Downtown Nashville, a pickup truck featured a sculpture replicating an iconic 1932 photo of steelworkers sitting on a beam in New York. (Photo: John Partipilo)

A film poster from the classic Sergio Leone Western movie "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" was altered to feature the likenesses of Kennedy, President Joe Biden, and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. (Photo: John Partipilo)

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