Christian Smith
Tensions between former President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are about to reach their peak at the Libertarian Party convention this weekend in Washington, as both presidential candidates court the party’s voters.
Both candidates will speak at the convention, and Kennedy even challenged Trump for a debate at the meeting.
from Trump surprising decision appear in the underlined event the potential threat Kennedy could have done that as he seeks another term in the White House.
“What the Trump campaign wants to do is paint the picture that, despite what you think and hear about RFK Jr., and the words that come out of his mouth, he is nothing more than a far-left nut job,” said Ford O’ Connell, a Republican strategist.
Most national polls have suggested that Kennedy could have a more damaging effect on President Biden than Trump in a hypothetical general election scenario. A Fox News National Poll released last week showed Trump leading Biden among registered voters by 1 point in a head-to-head matchup, but when Kennedy and fellow independent candidate Cornel West were included in the poll, Trump’s lead over Biden increased to 3 points.
However, polls in key battleground states paint a different picture. A New York Times/Siena College survey also released last week showed a slightly larger share of Trump supporters, 8%, preferring Kennedy in a five-way race. Seven percent of Biden supporters said they preferred Kennedy.
“When you look at the numbers, you can see that the national impact appears to be somewhat negligible or skewed against Biden,” said a Republican national strategist. “But when you get to the battleground states, it really seems to shift between them as to who is most harmed by RFK’s participation.”
“It’s not a 30-point difference,” the Republican Party strategist added. “In some cases, it is a difference of 1 or 2 points. But in Michigan or Arizona, it could make a difference.”
Trump took notice, attacking Kennedy several times on Truth Social. When asked earlier this month whether he would debate Kennedy, the former president said the independent presidential candidate was “not a serious candidate.”
The pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Inc. sent a series of memos portraying Kennedy as liberal on a range of issues and sent emails attacking him over his policy positions and highlighting past comments, such as those in which Kennedy praised former President Obama and called the conservative Tea Party movement “the resurgence of the Confederacy.”
And last week, Trump criticized Kennedy at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Dallas, speaking directly to the group’s members.
“RFK Jr. says very bad things and calls you a terrorist group, and I call you the backbone of America,” Trump said. “That’s a big difference, don’t you think?”
A similar dynamic could play out at the Libertarian Party convention as Trump seeks to galvanize support from party members.
“Trump is worried and jealous of Bobby’s legitimate support from pro-medical freedom voters,” said a source familiar with the Kennedy campaign.
These voters, the source suggested, “are leaving Trump because of his vax shilling.”
Strategists say Trump’s decision to address the Libertarian Party convention could help move the needle in his favor in a multi-faceted race.
“Politics is a game of addition, not subtraction,” said the Republican strategist. “In a Nebraska-02 Electoral College matchup, God forbid… 150 Libertarians could be the difference between the presidency, so it’s absolutely worth the investment.”
The strategist was referring to the unlikely but possible scenario in which control of the White House could depend on who wins the 2nd Congressional District in Nebraska, which distributes some of its electoral votes by district.
Kennedy, in turn, challenged the former president to debate him, referring to him as the “most skillful debater in modern American political history.”
“Instead of dropping poison bombs from the safety of his bunker, let’s hear President Trump defend his record to me, one-on-one, through a respectful and enjoyable debate,” Kennedy said.
The source familiar with the Kennedy campaign told The Hill that they did not think the back-and-forth between Kennedy and Trump was personal.
Some Democrats, however, argue that the rivalry highlights the similarities between the two men.
“Both Trump and Kennedy suffer from the same pathological need to always be in the spotlight,” said Doug Gordon, a Democratic operative. “Attacking each other helps you both achieve this.”
Republicans argue that Trump’s attacks on Kennedy are more strategic in nature.
“Given his strong positions in the Sun Belt states, I think it makes sense to go after RFK just because at that point Trump only needs to pick one of the Rust Belt states,” the Republican national strategist said.
Hanna Trudo contributed.
