Democrats Mostly Unfazed by Possibility of Trump–RFK Jr. Alliance

(Left) Former President Donald Trump holds a rally in the South Bronx in New York on May 23, 2024. (Right) Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks to attendees at Brazos Hall in Austin, Texas, on May 13, 2024. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times; Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Democrats are mostly unfazed by the growing buzz that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may suspend his independent bid for the presidency and join forces with former President Donald Trump.

Kennedy plans to address the nation on Aug. 23 about the “path forward” for his campaign.

During an interview this week with the Impact Theory podcast, Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, suggested they were looking either at forming a new political party or joining forces with Trump.

It is unclear whether Kennedy—part of the prestigious Democrat family—would pull more votes away from Republicans or Democrats in a general election matchup.

A recent poll by Siena College and the New York Times found that voters uncommitted to either major candidate prefer Trump by a thin margin. Among these uncommitted, 24 percent would choose Harris, while 32 percent would pick Trump.

It suggests a slight lead for Trump among voters looking at alternatives, but the poll also found that 45 percent of these voters were unsure or refused to answer—leaving it ambiguous whether Kennedy dropping out would benefit Trump or Harris more.

The Epoch Times spoke with several delegates and lawmakers at the Democratic National Convention, who said a Trump–Kennedy alliance won’t hurt their prospects.

‘Kennedy Voters Are Trump Voters’

“Kennedy voters are Trump voters anyway,” Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) told The Epoch Times.

The same attitude was expressed by Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign chairwoman, Jen O’Malley Dillon, who said that RFK Jr. potentially dropping out and endorsing Trump will not make a difference in November.

“We are very confident that the vice president is going to win, whether she’s running against one candidate or multiple candidates,” O’Malley Dillon said at a Politico event at the Democratic National Convention.

“I do think we are the underdog. We feel very good about where we are in terms of what we’re seeing in terms of our own data and the polling,” she said, describing polling as being “completely tied.”

According to Real Clear Politics, all seven major swing states—Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, and Georgia—are within 2 points, and most are within a one-point margin.

Andrew Gray, a member of the Alaska House of Representatives and an Alaska delegate, told The Epoch Times, “I don’t think it affects the Harris–Walz ticket at all. RFK Jr. was, in my opinion, always drawing from Trump supporters.”

Gray said it may be beneficial for Democrats, suggesting “low information voters” might vote for Kennedy because he was known as a Democrat.

“So not having him in the race is a major win for Harris, having him stay in the race, though, wasn’t as big of a threat as some people made it out,” he said.

California state Sen. Steven Bradford told The Epoch Times that he hopes that some likely Kennedy voters will choose Harris.

“The Kennedys have always been in the Democratic Party, so hopefully folks will start migrating her way versus going to the other side,” Bradford said.

Michael Taylor, the communications chief on Harris’s campaign, said on Aug. 22: ​​“I think our message, frankly, isn’t for RFK.”

Still, he indicated that for “voters who are looking for a place to go in this campaign,” the campaign would attempt to reach out to them.

West, Stein Seen as Bigger Threats

While Democrats may have a nonchalant attitude toward the prospect of a Trump–Kennedy alliance, they’re less sanguine about the impact that two other left-wing candidates—Jill Stein and Cornel West—could have on the race.

Former Rep. Bakari Sellers said “nobody cares” when asked about the prospect of Kennedy leaving the race. He called RFK Jr. “a complete non-factor.”

Instead, he says he’s “more concerned” with left-wing candidates West and Stein.

Both are running to the left of the Democratic Party on the issues—particularly the Israel–Hamas conflict that’s left Democrats sharply divided.

Sellers said the prospect is particularly frightening in Michigan, a crucial swing state with a high Arab-American population that could potentially defect en masse to those candidates, pushing Trump over the edge.

“There’s a lot of Jill Stein kind of heartburn we still have from [2016],” Sellers said.

Many Democrats still blame Stein for Clinton’s 2016 loss. If every Stein voter had cast their ballot for Clinton rather than Stein in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, Trump would have lost that election.

However, it’s still debated whether Stein “cost” Clinton the election.

Meanwhile, there are concerns among some Democrats that if Kennedy was drawing more support from Trump, his leaving the race could give the former president a boost in a contest that’s projected as coming down to the wire.

“I think that it may have a 5 percent impact,” said Evelyn Blackwell, a delegate who works as a hairstylist in Washington.

With Kennedy polling between 3 percent and 5 percent support, that could mean bad news for Democrats in a race where many swing states—including the crucial states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia—are all within 2 points, and most are within a one-point margin.

“I think that it could have an impact, and I don’t think we should take it for granted,” Blackwell said.

It’s not clear whether Kennedy will join forces with Trump, or what impact that would have on the shape of the election.

Kennedy has seen a dip in the polls in recent months, with many showing him at consistent single-digit margins.

The campaign is also nearly out of money. On Wednesday, Kennedy’s principal campaign committee, Team Kennedy, told the Federal Election Commission it ended July with about $3.9 million in cash on hand and about $3.5 million in debts and obligations.