Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Monday he is abandoning his bid for the Democratic nomination for the White House in 2024.
“I’m here to declare myself an independent candidate for president of the United States,” Kennedy announced to a crowd of supporters at Independence Mall in Philadelphia. “We declare independence from the cynical elites who betray our hope and who amplify our divisions. And finally, we declare independence from the two political parties.”
His family name is almost synonymous with the Democratic Party, but Kennedy has determined that its primary nomination process was skewed in favor of President Joe Biden. That history, he said, made the decision personally painful for him.
Some members of the Kennedy family released a joint statement in response calling his announcement “deeply saddening” and “perilous for our country.”
It is easy to forget he is a Democrat. My first reaction was ‘maybe this will split the Trump vote’ – though that still might be true.
I just don’t understand who he thinks is going to vote for him. The number of centrist conspiracy theorists who will vote for a former Democrat has got to be vanishingly small.
There’s a huge number of people out there who are fed up with both parties and see those parties as equally (or near enough) bad. He’s appealing to those who dislike Trump and Biden. Don’t underestimate his ability to play spoiler to one of them.
“Don’t underestimate his ability to play spoiler to one of them.”
I think we know which one he’d play spoiler to. Moderate Republicans know how to hold their nose because they’re supposed to. Democrats don’t have that strong of identity politics. It’s much easier for them to be convinced to not vote Dem.
This is especially true for the swing states that are going to determine who actually wins the presidency.
So to fight back against the elites who divide Americans hes going to be a spoiler to get the ultimate divisive elite guy elected. Okay, sure.
Hes going to use his run to not only be a spoiler but further spread anti-vaxx conspiracy bullshit through the mainstream media. I want to say spouting dangerous bullshit should be a disqualifier but then again look at the entire republican party.
Dr West is already running independent, so I doubt it makes much of a difference. How many potential RFK voters would have voted for Biden over Trump or West?
This will split the dem vote and serve Trump another term.
? Seems more likely to appeal to MAGA conspiracy theorist voters than to Dems.
A MAGA conspiracy theorist is deadset on Trump. There is no loss to Trumps base.
This directly siphons off the votes from low information potential dem voters. A solid chunk of my family and peer group have been 100% on the RFK jr train. There is a SIGNIFICANT population of people who would normally vote dem but are swayed by this kind of rhetoric.
It is true he was paid by the GOP to split the vote among Democrats, but I believe it has backfired if RFK Jr is running independent so soon into the election cycle. Several stories have come out about the GOP and Trump being worried about this move. Usually, federal abortion bans and right wing conspiracy theories don’t appeal to left wing voters the same way they appeal to right wing voters. Add the fact that there are so many right wing conspiracy theories that say that the Kennedy family will somehow save Trump and give him control of the government, at a time where it looks like trump will likely go to prison for the rest of his life, and Kennedy becomes a conservative super hero. Also, Kennedy was given time to speak during CPAC, which has given him exposure among conservatives in a way that he hasn’t received among left wing people.
There are a ton of reasons I am cautiously optimistic that RFK Jr. will end up tanking Trump or whoever Trump’s replacement will be if Trump ends up in prison before the election. I still plan on voting and encouraging others to vote despite this turn of events.
