Hundreds of people gathered Thursday at the Ko‘olau Ballrooms in Kaneohe to support Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s long-shot bid as an independent to become America’s next president.

Kennedy represents a stark departure from his father, former Attorney General and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, and his uncle President John F. Kennedy, liberal Democratic icons of the 1960s who were both assassinated.

RFK Jr.’s politics surprised many of his father’s and uncle’s supporters during the COVID-19 pandemic when he advocated that protecting fundamental civil liberties should be the country’s top priority and Americans should not be forced to be vaccinated.

On Thursday, Kennedy’s more than hourlong speech began with a presentation of data from two months ago that showed only 18% of Americans under the age of 35 are proud of their country.

“My primary job as president is to reinstill hope in that generation and pride in our country,” he said to a cheering crowd.

Kennedy announced Tuesday that he has filed paperwork to create his own political party in six states in an effort to get his name on the ballot with fewer voter signatures than would be required for an unaffiliated candidate. He is seeking to form a “We the People” party in Hawaii, California, Delaware, Mississippi and North Carolina as well as a “Texas Independent Party.”

Thursday’s rally started with videos about Kennedy’s background, including compilation clips from his other rallies around the country and images of him surfing in Hawaii.

They were followed by Peter Kater, two-time Grammy-winning pianist, performing three songs. Kamaile Puaoi and her son performed an oli chant, and Elijah McShane performed a prayer and a speech to support Kennedy in bringing “his mana to Hawaii.”

Sheldon Doney, a Pearl City resident, attended the rally with his wife while both wore “Hawaii for Kennedy” pins on their shirts.

“We are looking for leaders that are outspoken, that aren’t calling for coercion,” Doney said. “We really value his take on civil liberties and human rights.”

He believes Kennedy leans more Libertarian and is “the alternative to the other two, who aren’t likable and unappealing,” referring to President Joe Biden and Republican front-runner and former President Donald Trump.

“Under Trump’s watch we saw vaccines and lockdowns,” Doney said. “Biden’s no fan of civil liberties, so we’re looking for a different option.”

He said “authoritarianism” under both Biden and Trump “was very concerning.”

Doney and his wife became Kennedy supporters while they faced growing concerns during the pandemic.

“It was very heartbreaking for us to see the lockdowns, the mandates and the heavy-handedness of people like (then-Gov. David) Ige and (current Mayor Rick) Blangiardi,” he said.

Doney believes that blue states like Hawaii are out of touch with mainstream America.

“That’s why Bobby left the Democratic Party. He thinks that they left him because they’ve gone so extreme with the lockdowns and mandates — the coercion,” Doney said.

“I don’t agree with all his positions, but the choice now is who’s the candidate who’s speaking about civil liberties and human rights,” Doney said.

Kennedy’s wife, actress Cheryl Hines, began the rally by thanking everyone for coming out and welcomed her husband to the stage.

Kennedy later referred to Hawaii’s homeless problem, which had the second- highest per capita rate in the nation in 2023.

“It’s not because they’re drug addicts,” he said. “It’s not because they’re mentally, you know, it’s because the price of housing and so on is so unavailable.”

He said unaffordable housing is correlated with the idea that “giant corporations BlackRock, HP, Vanguard, Fidelity, Blackstone are buying single-family homes in this country.”

Kennedy said his solution to high-price housing and homelessness would be to “make an ecosystem that is more friendly to small businesses than big businesses.”

Hadas Gabai, a behavior technician who lives in Kaneohe, likes Kennedy’s philosophies and believes that “everyone should have a choice on what they want to do with their body, the government not be able to mandate anything.”

Gabai said she came to the rally because she “loves Kennedy’s message for medical freedom.”

She describes Kennedy’s politics as a “breath of fresh air. He’s totally brave and says things that no other candidate will say.”

The rally ended Thursday night with Kennedy offering all event participants to stand in line and take a picture with him.