Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a populist message to a Portland crowd Wednesday, emphasizing the needs of middle-class Americans and criticizing large corporations and federal bureaucrats.

“Americans are being told they live in prosperity, but when I sit at a kitchen table with them, I see people who are making choices that no American should ever make,” he said during remarks at the Ocean Gateway Pier. “Elderly Americans who are cutting their prescription pills in two to get them through the week. Mothers who are buying cheap ingredients at the grocery store to get through the checkout line.”

A lifelong Democrat, Kennedy launched his campaign for president in April to challenge President Joe Biden. But last month, he dropped out of the Democratic primary to run as an independent.

Several hundred people gathered to hear his nearly hour-long speech and applauded when he talked about lawsuits he’s filed against major corporations and when he expressed opposition to the war in Ukraine.

Marisa Bentley, 65, of Wells said she liked a lot of what he had to say, particularly when he recounted the lawsuits he’s filed against corporations as part of his environmental law practice.

“He’s a fighter,” she said. “It sounds like he has a plan. And he knows what’s going on behind the scenes. Due to his upbringing, he’s seen how these corrupt politicians operate.”

Kennedy, 69, is the son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.

His presence in the race gives Democrats like Bentley — who said she thinks Biden has done a good job — another option.

“I think it’s a really hard job and he’s done it four years,” she said of Biden. “I can imagine maybe somebody in their mid-50s might have more energy.”

If Kennedy makes the ballot in Maine and other states, he’s likely to face Biden and Republican President Donald Trump, the presumptive party nominees.

He criticized both for shutting down businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, although he did not repeat previous comments in which he criticized the vaccines.

Since announcing his presidential run, Kennedy has come under fire his anti-vaccine views and for spreading conspiracy theories.

But his Portland remarks focused largely on the economy and seemed to capture the attention of the crowd, a mix of young and old, those who appeared to come from an office job, one woman dressed as an emergency medical technician, and another with a camouflage backpack already adored with two Kennedy buttons.

As they mingled while waiting for the speech to start, the campaign piped in music that ranged from Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.”

Kennedy began his remarks by talking about the high cost of housing and the role it has played in driving homelessness. He said 18 to 34-year-olds can no longer afford to buy a house and many of them can no longer afford their rent.

“We have this whole generation of American kids who have lost faith in this country,” he said.

Kennedy referenced recent polls that show he is appealing to younger voters and independents. He asked the crowd to wear pins, display yard signs and help him get the signatures he needs to get on the ballot.

A poll released last week by Quinnipiac University showed that in a three-way race, Biden would receive 39%, Trump 36% and Kennedy 22%.

When the pollsters added former Green Independent turned independent Cornel West the mix, the results showed 36% Biden, 35% Trump, 19% Kennedy and 6% West.

And just this week, a New York Times/Siena College poll showed Trump leading Biden in five of six key swing states, with many voters expressing concern about Biden’s age and showing an electorate that’s generally unhappy with their choices, according to the Times.

That’s where a candidate like Kennedy can step in.

“He’s right on the pulse of where we need to go,” said David Karam, 59, who drove up from Cape Cod to hear the speech.

Karam said he was disappointed in Kennedy’s response to an audience member who asked him to call for a cease fire in Gaza. In a lengthy response, Kennedy said Israelis have lived for years with the threat of terrorism from Hamas.

Karam said Kennedy should have done more to recognize that Palestinians are different than the Hamas terrorists.

“He should be ahead of the curve on stating that there needs to be a cease fire so that we really can put a spotlight on how do we resolve that issue,” he said.

Another audience member asked Kennedy what he would do to address gun violence in the wake of the Lewiston mass murders that killed 18 and injured 13 on Oct. 25.

Kennedy recalled his family history with gun violence in which both his uncle and his father were gunned down.

“I know the impact is generational,” he said. “People who were affected by what happened in Lewiston, I’d say all of them will be living with that big hole in their souls for the rest of their lives. And it’s unacceptable.”

Yet he wasn’t able to offer any solutions other than to say “we need to find out why they are happening.”

For Kennedy fans, the Portland appearance proved to be motivation to get active with the election just one year away.

Tara Ambrose, 52, of Swanville brought her 9-year-old daughter Ruby to see Kennedy in person for the first time.

“I respect him so much,” she said. “He has a breadth of history, a real depth of understanding that puts pieces together that aren’t obvious.”