How much would a Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsement of former President Donald Trump – if the Democrat turned independent presidential candidate ends his White House bid – impact the 2024 election with Kamala Harris?
The political spotlight will be on Democrat turned independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday, in what many expect will be an announcement that he is ending his White House bid.
Kennedy’s campaign says their candidate “will address the nation live on Friday about the present historical moment and his path forward.”
On the eve of his event in Arizona, Kennedy moved to withdraw his name from the state’s ballot – which appeared to be another signal of his intent to drop out of the race.
However, the biggest question surrounding Kennedy’s anticipated exit from the 2024 race is whether it will give former President Donald Trump a small but potentially significant boost in his showdown against Vice President Kamala Harris.
Pointing back to the previous two presidential elections, veteran Republican strategist and Fox News contributor Karl Rove spotlighted the influential role third party candidates played.
“[Green Party candidate} Jill Stein got more votes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania than Hillary Clinton lost those states by”, Rove noted as he pointed to Trump’s victory over the Democrats’ 2016 presidential nominee.
Rove added that “in 2020, Jo Jorgensen, the Libertarian candidate, got more votes in Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin than Donald Trump lost those states by. And in each instance, that was the difference between winning and losing.”
Kennedy, the longtime environmental activist and high-profile vaccine skeptic, who is the scion of the nation’s most storied political dynasty, launched his long-shot campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in April of last year. However, last October, the 70-year-old candidate switched to an independent run for the White House.
While Kennedy had long identified as a Democrat and repeatedly invoked his late father – Sen. Robert F. Kennedy – and his uncle – former President John F. Kennedy – who were both assassinated in the 1960s – Kennedy in recent years built relationships with far-right leaders.
