Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he sees country singer Oliver Anthony's Virginia home as a possible pilot site for his proposed "healing farms."
Kennedy, a longshot Democratic primary candidate running against President Joe Biden, has called for taxpayer dollars to be redirected to fund centers for Americans struggling with addiction and other issues.
In a Substack newsletter published on Saturday, Kennedy, a recovering drug addict, wrote about visiting Anthony's grandfather's farm in Virginia in early August.
"He and I both hope that his homestead can serve as a pilot site for my proposal—announced in July—to build free healing centers in depressed communities across the nation, places that help reclaim a generation beset by depression, PTSD, loneliness, addiction and mental illness," Kennedy wrote.
Anthony, whose real name is Christopher Lunsford, shot to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August after his song "Rich Men North of Richmond" went viral. "I sit pretty dead-center down the aisle on politics and always have," he said in a video on YouTube.
Anthony's anthem "captures the overwhelming sense of despair among our working poor as they watch the American dream disintegrate, along with any hope that their children will lead better lives," Kennedy wrote in his newsletter.
He noted that since the 1980s, prisons have been built in depressed communities to "warehouse our devastated young people."
"It's time to turn our national attention to healing people instead," Kennedy wrote.
"Oliver and I share a faith in the miraculous powers of nature, community, clean nutritious foods, and dignified work. We believe these things can restore our country, our planet, our public health, and our spiritual vitality. We envision regenerative agriculture and greenhouses where residents will grow wholesome organic food, learn skills, and take a break from cell phones and screens."
He added: "I'm proud to support him, whatever the outcome of my presidential campaign, to make this healing center a reality, and if we are so blessed, the first of many more to come."
A spokesperson for Kennedy's campaign told Newsweek that Kennedy's "support for an addiction healing farm on Oliver Anthony's property is a personal commitment that he has made regardless of the results of the election.
"Furthermore, as president, Mr. Kennedy will provide federal support for similar projects all across the country."
Newsweek has contacted Anthony for further comment via email.
Update 9/18/23, 5:30 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to add a comment from a Kennedy campaign spokesperson.
