COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — donald trump He is known for constantly raising the bar and frequently making personal attacks against his top competitors. joe biden.Lately, he has increasingly taken the same approach to independent presidential candidates. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Among recent jabs, Trump last week released a nearly four-minute video in which he called Kennedy a “fake,” “a Democratic 'plant,'” and a “radical left-liberal set up to support Democratic presidents.” Posted online. Mr. Trump criticized Mr. Kennedy's family, calling them “a bunch of lunatics.”
“Don't think voting for him will make you feel better because he's not a Republican,” the former president and potential Republican nominee told supporters in a post on Truth Social.
Producing such a fierce attack The election in Kennedy could signal Trump and his campaign's concerns about independent bids in what is expected to be a close race. November electionwhen Third party applicant Siphoning even a small amount of support could sink one of the leading candidates.
There are six months left until Election Day, when many Americans will vote. voiced their dissatisfaction In the rematch between Trump and Biden, Kennedy has announced himself as an alternative candidate. Kennedy's focus on issues, including his fervent support for Israel and criticism of coronavirus lockdowns, could appeal to conservative voters more than Democrats. .
Current polls show that far more Republicans than Democrats have a favorable opinion of Kennedy, even though many Americans don't know him. February Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll About half of Republicans, 53%, have a favorable view of him, compared with 30% of Democrats. In about a quarter of each case, respondents said they did not know enough about Kennedy to speak.
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The Kennedy campaign claims that Mr. Kennedy has threatened both Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden. someone who is proud of their support From some of Kennedy's own family, called approval “It's an incredible honor.'' The president has largely ignored Kennedy, who challenged him for the Democratic nomination before launching an independent candidacy.
Kennedy followed Trump, but challenge him to a debate When both men spoke on different days, libertarian convention Later this month. Kennedy claimed that Trump's supporters were “wavering” in their support.
But Kennedy faces tough challenges.
As an independent candidate, his name will not automatically appear on the ballot.he had to Working to ensure access to the ballot President Kennedy said the process would be completed by this summer. His campaign says he has achieved this goal in five states: California, Delaware, Michigan, Oklahoma and Utah, and has enough signatures in eight remaining states. In some states, officials have not confirmed the numbers.
Kennedy said polls in races far away from elections are generally unreliable, but his fairly strong performance in several national polls gave him reason to think he was competitive. insisted. This is not a new trend for third-party candidates in presidential elections. Early national polls during the 2016 campaign showed Liberal Gary Johnson's approval ratings in the low single digits or low double digits. He ultimately received only about 3% of the popular vote.
The supporters who flock to Mr. Kennedy's events, including a recent comedy show in a Detroit suburb, are drawn from political circles, including those who have traditionally supported third-party presidents' efforts to appeal to disaffected Democratic and Republican voters. It states that they come from across the spectrum. That included people who had previously supported both Biden and Trump but were now fed up or no longer enthusiastic about them.
Ben Carter, a registered nurse who lives in White Lake, Michigan, said he supported Trump in 2016, but chose Biden four years later because “I just couldn't do it anymore.” Mr. Carter this year said he was willing to let Mr. Kennedy express unpopular opinions, but he viewed his approach as more palatable than Mr. Trump's, and praised Mr. Kennedy's willingness to tackle difficult topics. He said he was there.
“I don't hear Kennedy going out and lying. Trump, he just stands in front of the cameras and tells bald lies about things we know to be true,” Carter said. said. “He has opinions that you may not agree with, but I've never seen him stand in front of a crowd and just lie to people.”
Trump supporters admit they are interested in Kennedy's bid, even though their loyalty to Trump remains strong.
“He's a very interesting person,” Kim Hanson, a financial consultant in Hartford, Wisconsin, said on the sidelines of President Trump's recent rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin. “I love hearing from him.”
But Hanson, a Trump supporter, said she worries the novel appeal of voting for Kennedy could hurt support for Trump.
“I'm concerned that people will vote for someone they think won't win and won't vote for Trump,” she said.
There are several issue areas where Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Trump seem to agree.
Like Trump, Kennedy has fiercely defended Israel in its war with Hamas. During April, he suggested The prosecution of the rioters who violently attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, may be politically motivated and is partially consistent with the false portrayal promoted by Trump and his allies. We are doing so.
Kennedy criticized President Trump, saying the attack on the Capitol occurred at Trump's “encouragement” and “in the delusion that the election was stolen from him.” But Mr. Kennedy also said that as president, he would appoint a special counsel to investigate whether Mr. Trump's allies were unfairly singled out for prosecution.
President Kennedy also blamed President Trump for the economic damage to the middle class. Kennedy called pandemic-era lockdowns “the worst thing we've ever done to this country,” and acknowledged in the same speech that Trump “is being blamed for a lot of things he didn't do.”
Like Mr. Trump, Mr. Kennedy, a lifelong Catholic who describes himself as a “pro-choice man,” has ambivalent positions on abortion. He supported a federal 15-week ban on abortions, which he later reversed, but said he disagreed with Trump's view that the issue should be left to state governments.
Bernard Tamas, a professor at Valdosta State University who studies third-party presidential campaigns, said President Kennedy's policy positions, including his vaccine skepticism and staunch support for Israel in its war with Hamas, “appeal to conservative voters. It's highly likely,” he said. At this point, it's a clear threat to President Trump.
“RFK could very well do more damage to Trump (than Biden), especially since there are likely no other moderate independent candidates that non-Trump voters will vote for,” Tamas said. said.
Tamas said even a single-digit approval rating for Kennedy could affect the outcome of the general election.
“If a candidate like RFK Jr. loses even a few votes, the shape of the election could easily flip from one major party candidate to another,” Tamas said.
Brian Schimming, chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party, said he expects Kennedy to pull support from Trump and Biden, perhaps from Trump in the early stages of the campaign, but with more support from Biden in the second half. Told. He said Republicans have more enthusiasm for the former president than Democrats have for the incumbent.
“But what about those who vote by chance, or those voters who consciously tell themselves that they don't feel that strongly about either of these candidates?” Veteran Wisconsin Republican operative Mr Simming said. “Ultimately, because they're dissatisfied, they're going to take votes away from the weaker candidate, which in my opinion is Biden.”
Desiree Schardin, a small business owner from Germantown, Wisconsin, said at a Trump rally in the state that while she agreed with Kennedy's skepticism about vaccines, she disagreed with Kennedy's views because of her personal preferences. It tends to lean to the left.” She's stuck with President Trump, and she said she imagines many others will too.
“People who are loyal to Trump are fiercely loyal,” she says.
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Associated Press writers Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, Linley Sanders in Washington and Scott Bauer in Waukesha, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.
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Meg Kinard can be contacted at: http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP