Top Biden supporters inside the Democratic party are entering panic mode over the threat that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. poses to Joe Biden’s reelection chances come November.
A Tuesday afternoon phone call hosted by the DNC featured several key Democrats voicing their concerns about ‘spoiler’ RFK Jr. and his chances at ruining Biden’s odds in key swing states.
The call occurred shortly after Kennedy announced his vice presidential pick – Silicon Valley attorney and the ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nicole Shanahan.
Members of the press who joined the call heard Democratic politicians talk in circles about the stress of dealing with the idea that RFK Jr. could swing the electorate away from the extremely unpopular incumbent, and toward another Trump term, according to Fox News Digital.
Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis said that the party is ‘doing everything in our power to get President Biden and Vice President Harris reelected.
‘It’s critical that we take seriously every possible obstacle to that goal. And let me be clear, that’s exactly what Robert F. Kennedy is in this election. He’s a spoiler.’
Incumbent President Joe Biden’s top supporters inside his own party are beginning to panic about the impact RFK Jr.’s campaign could have on the final results at the ballot in November
‘Him (RFK Jr.) being in the race means that there is a greater likelihood that Donald Trump will become president again,’ said Michigan state Senator Mallory McMorrrow.
She further reflected upon the potentially ‘horrifying’ impact Kennedy’s campaign could have on Biden’s chances in Michigan – a swing state carried by Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020.
Congressman Robert Garcia of California called Kennedy, a noted vaccine skeptic, a ‘tin foil hat conspiracy theorist.’
He added that Shanahan, in his estimation, believes in an ‘anti-health agenda.’
During her introduction on Tuesday afternoon, Shanahan spoke about Americans’ health, and expressed a desire for more research to be done around pharmaceuticals, especially those delivered to children early in their lives.
Spinning his own theories for those on the call, Garcia said: ‘I think he’s (RFK Jr.) likely interested in trying to get Donald Trump elected. Maybe that’s what this is about. And many of us are not sure, but he is someone that should not be taken seriously as a serious person.’
According to Fox, one of former President Donald Trump’s former major donors – heir to the old American Mellon banking fortune, Timothy Mellon – has donated millions both to groups supporting Trump and Kennedy.
‘The truth is that he was drafted into this race by Donald Trump’s top supporters and is being financed in this race by Trump’s largest donor. That isn’t merely a coincidence,’ said Davis.
‘He has no realistic path to victory in Pennsylvania. All he can do is take away votes from President Biden and make it easier for Donald Trump to win, and we simply can’t afford to let that happen.’
Michigan state Senator Mallory McMorrow said Kennedy’s campaign could have a ‘horifying’ impact on Joe Biden’s reelection odds
Congressman Robert Garcia said he thinks Kennedy is attempting to ensure Donald Trump is elected again
Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis said that the party is ‘doing everything in our power to get President Biden and Vice President Harris reelected. ‘It’s critical that we take seriously every possible obstacle to that goal. And let me be clear, that’s exactly what Robert F. Kennedy is in this election. He’s a spoiler’
The most recent RealClearPolitics poll average shows that in a three-way contest, Kennedy could receive 15 percent of the vote. In that case, the poll shows Trump leading Biden by four points
In the last several weeks, the DNC has launched a team designed to quash third party candidates – specifically Kennedy’s – by hurling legal challenges and opposition research at their operations
In the last several weeks, the DNC has launched a team designed to quash third party candidates by hurling legal challenges and opposition research at their operations.
‘We cannot afford Donald Trump to be back in the White House, which is what is going to happen if people don’t see RFK for what he actually is, which is Donald Trump with a Kennedy name slapped on him,’ said McMorrow.
‘You don’t need significant support to throw an election to Donald Trump,’ she continued. ‘We saw this play out in 2016 where Jill Stein got 50,000 votes and Hillary Clinton lost by 10,000 votes in Michigan.’
‘So it is this type of a campaign – and Kennedy should be smart enough to know better. But I don’t think he does. I think his ego is in the way.’
The latest rounds of polling suggest that Kennedy, as well as third party candidates Dr. Jill Stein and Dr. Cornel West, would poach needed votes from both major party candidates – but Biden would be at risk of losing more support.
The most recent RealClearPolitics poll average shows that in a three-way contest, Kennedy could receive 15 percent of the vote.
In that case, the poll shows Trump leading Biden by four points.
In a five-way race that includes West and Stein, Kennedy clocks in with 11 percent of the vote, leaving Trump with a 2 point lead over Biden.
Dr. Jill Stein’s (pictured) 2016 campaign was enough to swing a handful of key districts away from Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election
The latest rounds of polling suggest that Kennedy, as well as third party candidates Dr. Jill Stein and Dr. Cornel West (pictured), would poach needed votes from both major party candidates – but Biden would be at risk of losing more support
Supporters of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cheer ahead of his vice presidential announcement Tuesday morning in Oakland, California
Kennedy officially unveiled millionaire Silicon Valley lawyer and tech entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan as his vice presidential pick Tuesday afternoon in Oakland, California.
The 38-year-old ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin took the stage alongside the long-shot candidate and his Curb Your Enthusiasm actress wife Cheryl Hines, she told the crowd: ‘In this moment, I am leaving the Democratic Party’.
The avid surfer and successful investor gave $4.5 million to a super PAC backing Kennedy over the last year, which helped pay for the controversial Super Bowl ad promoting his candidacy.
The highly-anticipated announcement followed RFK Jr.’s headline-grabbing search for a VP, which included candidates such as NFL star Aaron Rodgers, rapper Killer Mike, and ex-wrestler and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura.
Former presidential hopefuls Andrew Yang and ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe, life coach Tony Robbins, Republican Sen. Rand Paul, former Republican Sen. Scott Brown, Libertarian podcaster Dave Smith, and Tricia Lindsay, a GOP candidate for state Senate in New York, were also among those considered.
But Kennedy settled on Shanahan because of her age – 38 – and her work with the environment and artificial intelligence.
‘I am confident that there’s no American more qualified to play this role than Nicole Shanahan,’ he told the crowd after speaking for more than 35 minutes ahead of her entrance.
Kennedy and his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, wait beside the stage at the VP pick announcement on Tuesday
Shanahan spoke about her experience growing up poor in America, dependent upon government systems
Shanahan spoke about her experience growing up poor in America, dependent upon government systems.
‘I know a lot of Americans know exactly what that’s like – to be just one misfortune away from disaster,’ she said. ‘I don’t think we would have made it without food stamps and government help.’
‘As you probably know, I became very wealthy later on in life,’ she said. ‘But my roots in Oakland taught me many things I’ve never forgotten – that the purpose of wealth is to help those in need. That’s what’s it for.
‘And I want to bring that back to politics too. That is the purpose of privilege,’ she added.
Shanahan also talked about going to war-torn El Salvador as a high school student, which made her vehemently anti-war.
She said she embraced the Democratic Party because ‘that was supposed to be the party of peace, the party of compassion.’
‘It has lost its way,’ the Bay Area lawyer said. ‘There is only one anti-war candidate today and you won’t find him in the Democratic Party or the Republican Party – he is an independent, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’