Trump Was Devastated By the News of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Running Independent in 2024 Election

What Robert F. Kennedy Jr., aka RFK Jr., predicted before he announced his independent presidential run was then confirmed by a survey. It appeared that he is significantly undermining former President Donald Trump's support. As a result, President Joe Biden had a seven-point advantage against Donald Trump. According to an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll, Biden leads Trump 44% to 37%. In the poll, 16% of respondents chose Kennedy, and 3% were undecided, as of 1945. Members of Donald Trump's campaign feared RFK Jr.'s appeal and then appeared to be discreetly gearing up to launch an offensive stance against Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

According to internal campaign polling, there was a possibility that Trump may receive more votes from Kennedy Jr.'s predicted third-party effort than from President Joe Biden in a general election. The results of the internal polling indicated that Kennedy received more votes from Trump than from left-leaning independent Cornel West did from Biden, a source close to Trump's team told Semafor. “It’s single digits, but it’s enough where it counts to make a difference,” the person said. Their description was validated by another person who is acquainted with the polling. One of Trump's supporters says Trump allies are growing “anxious” and his campaign and outside allies are getting ready to release a barrage of opposition research. “We’re gonna be dropping napalm after napalm on his head reminding the public of his very liberal views, dating back to 2012,” another Trumpworld person told Semafor. “We have a lot of stuff on him.”

The Trump campaign's growing emphasis on RFK Jr. as a rival can go two ways. Kennedy might be at risk since he has up until now benefited from the backing of numerous pro-Trump individuals and conservative media. “He used to be a fun plaything to hurt Biden, now he is something that could hurt the GOP,” one Trump-aligned operative said. Kennedy's scheduled attendance at a CPAC event with prominent Trump supporters and other presidential aspirants like Vivek Ramaswamy could serve as an early test of that change, with some MAGA figures taking the opportunity to separate the movement from him publicly. Kennedy and Trump have previously had a cordial relationship that dates back years, and during the campaign, Trump even called Kennedy “a smart guy and well-intentioned.”

However, Kennedy's appeal would significantly decline if Trump indicated to his followers that he disagreed with MAGA. Trump's official stance on this seems to be that he's unaffected. “President Trump is leading by wide margins in every single poll — both nationally and statewide — in the primary and general elections,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. “The fact is that President Trump will beat Biden because he’s the only person who can supercharge the economy, secure our border, safeguard communities, and put an end to unnecessary wars. Americans want to return to a prosperous nation and there’s only one person who can do that – President Trump.”

Editor's note: This article was originally published on October 20, 2023. It has since been updated.