Having known many of them personally, perusing what they say online and in news media, and reading the tea leaves, I can say confidently that the #1 issue that RFK Jr. voters cite in their support for him is his unparalleled focus on COVID-19 and the consortium of public and private actors that brought the pandemic about, and, for solutions, cleaning out the rot in government regulatory agencies more generally.
Related: Trump Self-Congratulates, Brags About COVID Vaccines AGAIN
RFK fans are people, I believe, despite being predominately nominally liberal, who would otherwise be much more predisposed naturally to vote Trump than Kamala, given the current political landscape, although there has been much vigorous debate about from whom RFK detracts votes more.
There is, to be fair, some evidence that RFK Jr.’s voters gravitate more towards the Democrats, which is likely why New York has removed him from the ballot, likely to be followed by other states.
Via New York Post (emphasis added):
Former President Donald Trump gains an edge in critical swing states on Vice President Kamala Harris in a hypothetical six-way race that includes Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other candidates, according to a new poll.
A Data for Progress survey last month found Trump and Harris tied at 49% support among likely voters in the battleground states — but the former president surges ahead by 1 percentage point, 46% to 45%, when four other candidates are put on the 2024 ballots.
The race between the Republican nominee and the presumptive Democratic nominee in Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nevada is complicated by voters’ support for Kennedy Jr. (4%), Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver (0%), Green Party candidate Jill Stein (1%) and independent candidate Cornel West (1%).
Still, #DraintheSwamp and the top concern among RFK voters should go to together like peanut butter and jelly — and 4% of voters in crucial swing states is a serious voting bloc that begs to be served, as a 4% bump would arguably give Trump election fraud-proof margins.
He needs this. It’s good politics and, if RFK Jr. can get into a leadership role, it’s great policy, given that monkeypox is apparently on the verge of rebranding as Pandemic 2.0.
Recently, RFK Jr. allegedly courted Kamala Harris to get exactly that kind of deal, which her team rejected — because, of course; her pharmaceutical masters would never permit such a thing to occur.
Via CNN (emphasis added):
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign reached out to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign to arrange a meeting about a possible role in her administration if he drops out of the race and endorses her, a Kennedy campaign official and a Democratic official told CNN.
The approach from Kennedy’s team occurred last week, and no meeting between the two candidates materialized, the Kennedy campaign official told CNN.
The effort to meet comes weeks after Kennedy and former President Donald Trump met in person during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where the two discussed a possible role for Kennedy in a potential Trump administration in exchange for an endorsement.
Kennedy campaign staff also attempted to reach out to intermediaries for Ron Klain, former White House chief of staff for President Joe Biden, but those efforts were fruitless, the Kennedy campaign official said.
I sincerely hope that a Trump-RFK Jr. endorsement-for-cabinet-role deal is in the works behind the scenes. If it’s not, it’s political malpractice.
