Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now independent presidential candidate and legacy from a political family, is readying the announcement to move himself into prominence on the national stage.
Kennedy’s campaign says he “will speak to the nation live on Friday evening about this movement happening right now and his response.” That quote, along with his recent decision to step aside from the Arizona ballot tells us that we can probably scratch Kennedy’s 2024 presidential bid.
There remains a larger issue whether Kennedy leaving could provide even the tiniest benefit to former President Donald Trump in his race versus Vice President Kamala Harris. Prominent Republican strategist and Fox News contributor Karl Rove noted how third-party candidates could play a role in that calculus, mentioning the presidential elections of 2016 and 2020.
“[Green Party candidate} Jill Stein got more votes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania than Hillary Clinton lost those states by,” Rove noted as he pointed to Trump’s victory over the Democrats’ 2016 presidential nominee.
Rove added that “in 2020, Jo Jorgensen, the Libertarian candidate, got more votes in Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin than Donald Trump lost those states by. And in each instance, that was the difference between winning and losing.”
Kennedy, who is an environmental activist and a vaccine skeptic, launched his campaign for the Democratic nomination in April last year. But by October, he re-registered as an independent to mount a presidential campaign.
Kennedy had been repeatedly attacked by President Joe Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee as a spoiler who would take votes away from Trump. Still, Kennedy loomed as a major threat to Biden until the president last month abruptly exited his re-election campaign and backed Harris instead.
Kennedy, after defecting to an independent run did the Trump campaign then turn on as being part of “the radical left” and one who was anti-environment. Kennedy and Trump have also developed an increasing friendship in the last year or so, with Kennedy calling to wish the president well after he survived an assassination attempt better than anyone ever has and meeting at once a few days later.
This week, Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan made news when she said that the campaign was open to “coming together” with Trump against a Harris victory in 2024 on a podcast.
“If he endorsed me, I would be honored by it. I would be very honored by it. He really has his heart in the right place,” Trump said on Thursday in an interview on “Fox and Friends.”
The timing of Kennedy’s event in Phoenix comes just hours before Trump rallies nearby Glendale, and has increased speculation he could endorse. On Friday, it was known that Trump is looking to meet with Kennedy and mentioned “He did say on multiple occasions… It is possible we will be meeting tomorrow.”
Kennnedy’s campaign has been relatively quiet over the past three months, last holding a public event back on July 9th in Freeport. In the latest Fox News national poll conducted August 9-12, his numbers dropped to just 6%. In another blow to his candidacy, he is struggling financially; a month ago reported having only $3.9 million cash on hand and nearly $ 3.5 million in debt
“Kennedy is barely relevant,” tweeted political analyst Larry Sabato.
Democratic strategist Marie Harf commented that Democrats are eager to know what would happen if Kennedy drops out. Harf said, “If him being in the race was taking votes from Trump — those votes will go back to Trump now. If all of the votes for RFK go to Trump, it already is a close race and will become closer.”
