Former President Trump called Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential run “great for MAGA,” hours after the independent candidate named Nicole Shanahan as his VP pick.
Why it matters: Kennedy has been polling better than any independent candidate in decades. With his name recognition, Democrats are worried he could tip the election in favor of Trump.
- RFK added new momentum to his bid Tuesday by announcing attorney and entrepreneur Shanahan, ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, as his running mate.
State of play: Trump in a Truth Social post early Wednesday dubbed Kennedy the “most Radical Left Candidate in the race,” adding that Shanahan is “even more ‘Liberal’ than him.”
- The presumptive GOP presidential nominee claimed that Kennedy’s bid potentially siphoning votes from President Biden would be a “great service to America.”
- “He is Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, not mine. I love that he is running!” Trump added.
Between the lines: Trump’s team has figured Kennedy poses a greater threat to Biden’s campaign and hasn’t dedicated major resources to targeting him. However, the team is still watching his independent bid closely.
- Past polling has indicated that Kennedy could tilt the race in Biden’s favor, but the president’s campaign is not taking that for granted.
- The campaign is building out an entire operation dedicated to attacking Kennedy.
- The DNC has argued that RFK Jr. is a “stalking horse” for Trump who shares a megadonor — businessperson Tim Mellon — with the former president.
Source: https://www.axios.com/2024/03/27/trump-rfk-jr-great-maga