Democrats clamoring for greater concerted action against Robert F. Kennedy are desperate to see President Biden reelected. Kennedy Sr.
Biden allies and liberal organizations stepped up their efforts to undermine him after The Independent announced this week that Nicole Shanahan, an investor and patent lawyer, would be his vice president. They were concerned that Shanahan’s increased financial resources and voting access would have disastrous consequences in November.
Despite Kennedy’s support from a wealthy running mate, Democrats argue that they should put in more effort to hurt his chances of winning, highlighting his divisive views and doing everything within their power to make him an electoral afterthought.
Democratic strategist Doug Gordon stated, “Democrats should use every tool at their disposal to expose the truth about Kennedy and Shanahan.”.
Gordon stated that they should “prove that they have no way to get the 270 Electoral College votes required to win.”.
Show that Shanahan and Kennedy have been promoting conspiracy theories for a long time. Let the world know that their campaign is assisting [former President Trump] in getting back into the White House, he continued.
Some cited the 2016 election, citing how Jill Stein, the Green Party nominee, reduced Hillary Clinton’s vote total and thus contributed to the Democratic nominee’s defeat.
One Democratic strategist involved in that election stated, “They need to see what happened in 2016 and take it very seriously.”. In addition to criticizing Donald Trump, they also ought to address RFK Jr. He should never be considered a reasonable choice. “.
Trump declared this week that Kennedy was “great for MAGA” since he would be “taking votes” away from Biden, “which would be a great service to America,” following Kennedy’s announcement of Shanahan as his running mate. “.
Trump posted on Truth Social, saying, “He is Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, not mine.”. “It’s awesome that he’s running.”.
For months, Biden has essentially ignored Kennedy as a person in favor of focusing only on Trump. Furthermore, people close to him claim they don’t think that will change.
Yet, this does not imply that Democrats are acting as though he doesn’t exist. They continue to consider Kennedy to be a joke, but they are making an effort to organize more attacks in light of this.
In an attempt to gather as much information as possible that could harm Kennedy, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and affiliated advocacy groups are setting up war room-style operations for him. As Trump approached the Republican nomination, the DNC and pro-Biden groups intended to focus more on him; however, they are now treating Kennedy as a competitor deserving of taunts.
The DNC started to subtly strengthen its response to Kennedy and the possibility of other third-party candidates earlier this year, dedicating a whole research team and communications staff to potential spoilers.
In order to keep track of the states in which Kennedy is running for office, the team also includes attorneys like Dana Remus, who worked as Biden’s White House counsel. According to his campaign, he will currently make appearances in Utah, Hawaii, and New Hampshire.
Renowned Democratic strategist Lis Smith stated, “We learned the lessons of 2000 and 2016.” Smith was brought on board to assist with the communications effort.
Shortly following Kennedy’s vice presidential event on Tuesday, the Democratic team staged a press conference to resist. Their campaign began with billboards in Michigan in February, coinciding with Kennedy’s tour of the battleground state.
Smith declared, “Wherever he goes, we’re making sure to counter him.”.
Furthermore, the DNC’s efforts are not ignored. Other seasoned partygoers are supporting the anti-spoiler movement in an effort to mitigate the risk of late-entry threats.
Democratic strategist Joel Payne stated, “The Democratic apparatus as a whole has been stepping up its collective efforts to define the threat of third-party bids like Kennedy’s.”.
Payne continued, “I believe the president’s campaign team probably wants to avoid elevating Kennedy unnecessarily, and that’s probably a wise strategy at this stage.”. “.
Even though the Democrats’ offensive tactics differ in how aggressive they are, they should all concentrate on informing voters about his policy stances, which lean right in areas like vaccine skepticism and restrictions on women’s reproductive health.
Voters’ knowledge of RFK Jr. spokesperson for presidential campaigns at American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic PAC, Brandon Weathersby stated, “The more it becomes clear to them and his campaign that he’s using his famous last name to play the spoiler who sends Trump back to the White House.”.
Voters frequently become less favorable toward an RFK Jr. when they discover his close ties to Trump supporters, his bizarre conspiracy theories, or his right-wing positions on significant issues. candidacy,” stated Weathersby.
Kennedy’s allies claim they are prepared for the task. They interpret the worries raised by Biden’s supporters as evidence that the environmental attorney can connect with those who are opposed to another Biden vs. Trump’s campaign.
According to a Kennedy ally acquainted with his campaign’s tactics, “They’re actually taking this thing seriously.”. They refuse to acknowledge it and will not discuss it in public. Bobby will be called names and insulted by them, and then they will troll him by inviting his family to the White House, the source claimed. But in actuality, they are aware of Bobby’s influence. “.
Despite Kennedy’s consistent low double digit polling numbers, which trail both Biden and Trump, his supporters interpret the bipartisan attempt to discredit him as evidence that they may be considering adding him to more state ballots.
The source claimed, “It shows me that they’re trying to get something to stick that they’re committing any kind of resources into putting up this narrative around calling him a’stalking horse’ and then putting that talking point out to all their vessels in the media and all their operatives and their lower level in the DNC.”.
Currently, Kennedy faces the challenge of not being on the ballot in many states, particularly the majority of swing states where the election will ultimately be decided.
This can be attributed to several factors: in order to be eligible for approximately half of them, he had to declare a running mate, something he had not done until this past week. As per the Federal Election Commission’s filings, he possessed significantly less money than both Biden and Trump. Even though he is a Kennedy with a high name ID, he is not as well-known as the current or previous president. There are some members of the public who are unaware that Kennedy is a candidate, according to sources close to him.
He could change the direction of his campaign with more funding. Shanahan helped finance one significant $7 million commercial that was shown during the Super Bowl, but other than that, there hasn’t been much advertising for the campaign.
Kennedy is a “real force and a real factor” in the general election, according to the source close to his campaign, the more state ballots he is eligible to receive.
The source continued, “Joe Biden and everyone around him cannot ignore that.”.
