The meaning of the stunning development that Robert F Kennedy Jr, formerly a Democrat and now an independent, was dropping his bid for President and endorsing former President Donald Trump has yet to completely sink-in to many Trump supporters.
Pro-Trump reactions to the Kennedy endorsement seem to have ranged from “who cares,” to the unprintable, to “can we make RFK Jr the VP nominee” and everyplace in between.
Democrats and their allies in the media, on the other hand, have gone a little nuts, alternately bashing Kennedy as a kook, while moaning about the possibility that if a majority of Kennedy’s voters go to Trump it could throw the election to the former President.
CNN host Erin Burnett’s response to Kennedy’s Trump endorsement didn’t revel in mockery of the independent candidate, but provided a stark warning to the Democratic Party that the endorsement will lower its chances at winning the White House in November.
"The latest swing state polls show Kennedy with five or six percent of the vote," Burnett told CNN viewers on Friday evening, adding, "And so, when you think about it overall, and they say 'Well, that's not a big deal.' Actually, if that is the case in swing states, it is huge. It is everything. It is more than the margin between Harris and Trump in some of those same states."
Our take is a little different.
RFK Jr may be able to swing some of those voters who were committed to his candidacy, and the Trump team should of course welcome them, but RFK Jr’s utility may not be in moving his existing tranche of voters to Trump, it may be in getting undecideds to back the former President.
One of the problems the Trump campaign has never effectively dealt with is the media spin that the MAGA Movement is a personality cult centered on proto-dictator Donald Trump. For going on eight years Democrats and their media allies have been pounding away at the idea that Donald Trump is this bad scary guy.
Trump saying, “Look I’m not a scary guy,” doesn’t really rebut the charge, especially because there’s no “Book of MAGA” or definitive MAGA canon to which one can refer to defend the former President by saying this is what Trump stands for and this is what he’s going to do, and none of it is scary or bad.
RFK Jr can do that in a way no Republican or conservative can – he’s been on the other side and come over, and there’s often no better missionary than a convert to preach to the unconverted masses. (See Robert F Kennedy’s remarks endorsing Donald Trump here for some strong evidence we are right on that point.)
As of CHQ deadline RFK Jr’s tweet reproduced above has received over 296,000 likes and 82,000 reposts, perhaps the best way Mr. Kennedy can help defeat the Democrats who have strayed so far from the principles his father and uncle supported would be to devote himself to delivering his “what MAGA means” message in person and via social media.
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First RFK Jr.. Then Tulsi Gabbard. Wonder which liberal will be next to see that having the Cacklemaniac in the Oval Office spells national suicide?
What a beautiful and inspiringly sincere sentiment from RFK, Jr. This combination of optimism and realism is what Americans are so hungry for--and I do hope his platform issues continue to re-shape the political narrative to focus on what really matters. The merger of corporations with government agencies is nothing short of murderous--this is the worst of the Swamp and it must be corrected. Neo-Cons and Neo-Libs don't want this change. Together they make formidable opponents for goodhearted mainstream Americans. This is our David and Goliath. We must unite to fight.