Democrats described independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy as “desperate” after he contacted Vice President Kamala Harris offering his endorsement in exchange for a job in her administration. Kennedy had reportedly also approached Donald Trump with the same proposal, causing critics to denounce him as unprincipled and fearful that his own campaign is dissolving.
Polls and surveys show that Mr. Kennedy’s support has collapsed in recent months. In June, results showed him hovering at around 15%, but since President Biden dropped out of the race, voters have veered back to the Democrats, and Kennedy’s figures fell to around 5%. Analysts have suggested that much of his backing came from Democrat-leaning voters who felt they could not get behind Biden but are now reassured by the Vice President’s presence.
David Richards of the University of Lynchburg in Virginia believes some of those voters were even willing to accept Kennedy’s more militant policy positions, but with Harris, they have a less radical alternative to support.
After the independent was rejected by the Harris campaign, he lashed out at the Vice President and said she had made the Democratic Party “unrecognizable.” He claimed Ms. Harris has turned the party into one of “lawfare, disenfranchisement, and the coronation of its candidates by corporate donors and party elites.”
Mr. Kennedy was furious when the Democrats did not allow him to stand against President Biden in primary ballots, prompting him to leave the party and accuse them of lacking commitment to democracy.
In July, reports emerged that the former Democrat had also met with Donald Trump to discuss potential future collaboration. According to insiders, the two men discussed the possibility of Kennedy taking the helm at the Health and Human Services Department under a second Trump administration. The meeting took place during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, but sources say discussions never reached the point of a concrete deal. Their talk was described as “informal” and “free flowing.”
Kennedy first spoke to Trump on the evening of his assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, when they agreed to meet in Milwaukee. A Kennedy spokesperson said the independent seeks national unity and wants the Democrats to return to their roots.
