Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told national media this week that incumbent President Joe Biden should withdraw from the 2024 election contest to prevent former President Donald Trump from recovering the White House.
“We only have one shot to defeat Donald Trump, and we need a nominee who can do the job. And that would be me,” Kennedy stated during a 30-minute presentation on campaign polling at a rented location in downtown Brooklyn.
Kennedy then urged Biden to make a “No Spoiler Pledge” and resign from the race if he performed lower than Kennedy in a head-to-head showdown with Trump in a survey of 30,000 or more people in mid-October.
Kennedy stated that he would be pleased to make a similar pitch to the former president, but Trump “is not a spoiler because he can actually win.”
The address appeared to be a response to both parties’ criticisms on his capacity to influence the general election. Kennedy has come under fire from Trump in particular in recent days, with the former president claiming on social media that backing Kennedy was a “wasted vote.”
Democrats have not been hesitant in criticizing Kennedy, either, forming an organization with professional campaign strategists to tackle third-party dangers like Kennedy.
According to Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Matt Corridoni, Kenendy’s request to have Biden quit out is “as deeply unserious as his campaign is.”
Polling Show Biden Can’t Beat Trump
Kennedy and his campaign manager, Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, offered a survey from John Zogby Strategies, a business that has worked with both the campaign and a Kennedy-aligned super PAC, as proof that he should remain in the race rather than Biden.
According to the poll, Kennedy would defeat the former president if Biden or any other Democratic Party contender were not running.
“Is it possible that President Trump will participate in the election but not win? Yes, there is just one. “And that scenario is that President Biden admits that he cannot win,” Fox Kennedy stated during the presentation.
Fox Kennedy stated that calling on Biden to drop out of the race is fair because the DNC has also asked Kennedy to quit.
The Trump and Biden campaigns did not return a request for comment.
Any possible choice to drop out in October would be far too late to influence election results — mail and early voting begins in some states as early as September — and would almost certainly split the Democratic vote.
Younger Generation Prefers Kennedy
The Kennedy campaign’s presentation did not include any results for a three-way contest. Kennedy has roughly 11 percent support in national polls against Biden and Trump, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average, which is well short of what is required to win any Electoral College votes.
However, the polling presentation was well-received by Kennedy volunteers at the news conference and provided welcome new talking points.
“I’m always talking to people on Instagram, and they say, ‘he’s a spoiler,’ and ‘a vote for Kennedy is a vote for Trump,'” said Queens resident Alexis Leyco, 28. “I am excited. I’m absolutely going to use this.
According to Will Boothby, the Kennedy campaign’s Northeast regional director, over a dozen volunteers canvassed prior to the event and collected 500 signatures. The campaign is seeking to collect roughly double the 45,000 signatures required to place Kennedy’s name on the ballot in New York, and hundreds are arriving every day, he added.
Boothby said that much of the support for Kennedy’s petitions comes from younger people who are concerned about issues such as student loan debt and affordable housing, followed by older veterans from across the Empire State.
The campaign did not disclose how many signatures it currently has in New York, which has one of the higher signature requirements to get on the November ballot.
Kennedy’s ability to collect those signatures and defend his candidacy against legal challenges from both parties will determine how influential he is in the November election. “People who believe that I am spoiling at this point for President Biden,” stated Kennedy, “need to look at data.”
Source: Politico
