Former President Donald Trump is moving to throttle the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as the presumptive GOP nominee looks to prevent the independent challenger from siphoning votes.
According to The Hill, Trump is planning to attend the Libertarian Party national convention later this month in an effort to keep their voters from Kennedy, who has ties to the party, describing him as "not a serious candidate." The GOP also slammed Kennedy last week for his comment that "red state people are more likely to murder you."
The animosity toward Kennedy from Trump's camp comes as polling suggests the independent could pull support from the former president, who is looking to consolidate anti-establishment sentiment as he seeks a second term in the White House.
"Are there lunatics that won't vote for Biden? Are there lunatics that won't vote for Trump? Yeah, it's a third option," a former Trump campaign adviser told The Hill.
Many Republicans think Kennedy, a former Democrat whose famed political family endorsed Biden, will draw more votes from Biden than from Trump, speculating RFK Jr.'s independent's base is largely comprised of disgruntled Democrats looking for a third option.
"I think Kennedy's going to pull real numbers," the former Trump adviser said of voters from Biden's coalition.
Though Trump recently suggested Kennedy is a "Democrat plant," many Democrats suggest Kennedy was recruited and funded by Trump allies to run.
Some within Trump's circle reportedly view his response to Kennedy as uncharacteristically restrained in that he has not gone after the environmental lawyer as aggressively he has with others. The 45th president's associates, however, have been coordinated in their attacks on Kennedy.
According to The Hill, the Trump-aligned Make America Great Again Inc. PAC released a memo highlighting 10 Republican leaders' comments denigrating the third-party candidate. The memo reportedly included figures from Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.
Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, warned Kennedy is not who he appears to be and would be much worse for Republicans than some might think.
"RFK is a WOLF in Sheep's Clothing!!” Jackson wrote on X. “He HATES our Conservative movement and thinks people from Red states are IGNORANT and VIOLENT. Don’t be FOOLED this November – TRUMP 2024!!!’”
Late last month, Trump suggested that many within his own party are not well educated on Kennedy or his campaign platform.
“A Vote for Junior’ would essentially be a WASTED PROTEST VOTE, that could swing either way, but would only swing against the Democrats if Republicans knew the true story about him,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Junior’ is totally Anti-Gun, an Extreme Environmentalist who makes the Green New Scammers look Conservative, a Big Time Taxer and Open Border Advocate, and Anti-Military/Vet…”
A NewsNation/DecisionDesk HQ poll released on Monday suggests Trump has reason to be worried about Kennedy. The survey found the independent challenger has a higher favorability rating among GOP voters than among the general public.
In an effort to paint Kennedy as an extreme liberal, Trump’s campaign recently resurrected Kennedy’s past comments that praised Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a self-described democratic socialist, and his support for both former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
“You don’t spend money trying to define somebody if you don’t think they could hurt you,” Republican strategist Alex Conant told The Hill. “I think there’s a race to define Kennedy by both Republicans and Democrats.”
Nicole Wells ✉
Nicole Wells, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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