While the name of the novel and the earlier film was retained, the significance of “Manchurian” was changed. In the original, the protagonist was captured in the Korean War and brainwashed by the Chinese army in Manchuria. In the 2004 film, with the Korean War replaced by the Gulf War, Manchurian is instead used as the name of a sinister multinational company.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manchurian_Candidate_(2004_film)
I would not be surprised if american’ts no longer know whete Manchuria is
RFK is probably just suffering from the permenant COVID revolution