The media had painted the rally—and everyone involved—as a gathering of extremists. If you believed the coverage, the Speaker’s Tent would have been filled with a monolithic group of MAGA diehards. But that wasn’t what I saw.
Yes, there were MAGA populists—about a third of the people there. But another third were traditional social conservatives, and the final third were liberal Democrats who had voted for Joe Biden just months earlier. These were people who did not naturally speak to each other, largely as a result of media-driven polarization.
Yet there we were, united by a shared sense of betrayal over COVID-19 mandates and censorship. What struck me most was how naturally the conversations flowed, even across the partisan chasm. People connected—not because they agreed on everything, but because they recognized a fundamentally broken system eroding their freedoms.
I spent the day trying to keep things running smoothly in the tent, but what I really ended up doing was observing. And at the center of it all was RFK Jr., the person who had made that tent possible—not just literally, but figuratively.
It was a mistake for the Establishment to cast out people for their views on COVID, the mandates, and the censorship regime. By silencing dissent, they didn’t suppress opposition—they ignited it. The people they tried to marginalize found each other, and together, they formed something powerful: a counter-elite.
The Speaker’s Tent was a microcosm of this counter-elite—leaders and thinkers from across the political spectrum who had been dismissed for challenging the status quo. And RFK Jr. wasn’t just a part of it—he gave these individuals a platform to come together, find common ground, and work toward shared goals.
RFK Jr. has a rare gift for uniting people. He’s not a conservative or a social conservative, and he’s not necessarily a populist. But he doesn’t let ideological differences stop him from working with people across the political spectrum. That willingness to engage will be fundamental to the task of repairing America’s health.
In the current political landscape, RFK Jr.'s refusal to toe the line on issues like vaccine mandates and the establishment’s stance on Big Pharma has made him a target. The powerful interests aligned against him—corporate and political elites—are desperate to maintain control over the narrative and their profits, and they view him as a threat to their hold over public health policy.
The media has consistently misrepresented RFK Jr., reducing him to a caricature and dismissing his supporters. They miss the bigger picture: RFK Jr. isn’t just a symbol of resistance; he’s a tent maker. He has an exceptional talent for listening, connecting, and uniting people who would otherwise remain divided. What struck me that day in the Speaker’s Tent wasn’t just who was there, but what was happening. People weren’t just venting their frustrations; they were forming alliances. They were starting to imagine what they could accomplish together.
That’s what RFK Jr. does best. And in a second Trump administration—where ambitious entrepreneurs, policy disruptors, and reformers will be driving major changes—there is an urgent need for someone who can serve as a fair and trusted sounding board. RFK Jr. is that person. The system opposes him because they want the second Trump administration to fail. But Americans want to win and RFK Jr. is essential to building this victory.
David Ragsdale was the Operations Director at Defeat the Mandates and creator of the Covid Litigation Conferences. He has a Master’s of Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.
