Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could prevent former President Donald Trump from winning back the White House in November, political strategist Karl Rove suggested.
Although no third-party candidate has been elected president, such campaigns have helped decide the overall outcome of an election.
While many Democrats are concerned RFK Jr.'s name recognition and presence could hurt President Joe Biden, Rove says Trump also might need to worry about the former congressman being on the November ballot.
"Mr. Trump veers back and forth from dismissing Mr. Kennedy as a 'Radical Left Lunatic' to calling him 'a nice guy,' Rove wrote in an opinion column for The Wall Street Journal. "But as one of the world's pre-eminent antivaccine activists, Mr. Kennedy might also be a threat to Mr. Trump's reelection hopes."
A former adviser to then-President George W. Bush, Rove cited Kennedy's "moonbat ideas" that include the CIA being a bigger threat to America than China, the Seventh Amendment right of trial by jury being routinely violated, al-Qaida might not have been responsible for 9/11, Bush's 2004 election victory was stolen, and chemicals in our water might spread transgenderism.
"In a normal election, these wild ideas would devastate a campaign," Rove wrote. "But this isn't a normal year.
"After stunts like Russiagate, decades of mainstream media bias, and years of QAnon nonsense, voters on the right are particularly prone to embrace conspiracies from fringe sources. Mr. Kennedy could use these outlandish claims to pry more than a few wackos off Mr. Trump, perhaps enough to hand the election to Mr. Biden."
Kennedy still needs get on the ballot in most states. His campaign says he is on the ballot in 14 states and is working in 33 other states, Rove wrote.
The campaign last week campaign reported it secured funding to fulfill ballot access in all 50 U.S. states following an $8 million donation from the candidate's running mate, Nicole Shanahan.
Rove, though, also discusses how third-party candidates affect Biden. Besides Kennedy, there is independent Cornel West and the Green Party's Jill Stein.
"Since this year's election undoubtedly will be tight, third-party candidates have both major parties nervous," Rove wrote. "Democrats are particularly concerned that Messrs. Kennedy and West and Ms. Stein could siphon off Black, Hispanic, young, and progressive voters.
"Democrats are extremely unsettled by Mr. Kennedy, whose name recognition is much better than most third-party hopefuls. He's the fourth Kennedy to seek the presidency, following John F. Kennedy in 1960; his father, Robert, in 1968; and Ted Kennedy in 1980. RFK Jr. is a longtime environmental activist and lawyer who has sued companies, states, and local governments over pollution."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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