Robert Kennedy Jr.’s endorsement of Donald Trump on Friday is best understood as a double-edged political sword. It may help the former President in battleground states, but the price could be high if it includes putting Mr. Kennedy in a second Trump Administration.
The Kennedy scion’s endorsement remarks included a scathing attack on Democrats for the way they treated him as a candidate. It’s clear that he and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, feel Democrats played dirty in trying to keep them off state ballots and limit their reach on social-media platforms. In that sense Democrats can blame themselves for the endorsement since Mr. Kennedy might have dropped out and not endorsed either candidate.
It’s hard to judge the endorsement’s electoral impact. RFK Jr. has lost about half of his standing in the polls since President Biden dropped out of the race. Most of those voters seem to be disgruntled Democrats who are now returning home for Kamala Harris.
That means the 5% or so of voters who continue to back him are probably more inclined to support Mr. Trump, if they bother to vote. The Trump campaign argued in a memo on Friday that there are enough of these voters to make a decisive difference in states like Arizona and Georgia, where Mr. Biden won narrowly in 2020. In a close election they may be right.
Mr. Kennedy also said Mr. Trump plans to “enlist” him in government if he wins in November, and that’s the potential rub. RFK Jr. hits some populist notes that Mr. Trump also supports, such as opposition to tech platform censorship and skepticism about the Ukraine war.
But the former Democrat lives in the fever swamps with his anti-vaccination views, his support for an extreme climate agenda, and his belief that American health ills are largely the result of collusion between big business and government regulators. He’s also the guy who admitted recently to dumping a dead bear in New York’s Central Park. If RFK Jr. is anywhere near the healthcare or environmental agencies in a Trump Administration, look out.
Mr. Trump’s best response is to thank RFK Jr. for his support, make no promises about the future, and by all means avoid joint campaign appearances.
