Donald Trump became a strong pitchman — to Democrats — for independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. on Thursday just as the anti-vax candidate appears to be edging ever closer to Trump's positions.
"If I were a Democrat, I'd vote for RFK Jr.," Trump urged voters in a video message posted to Truth Social. "He'd make a better president than Joe Biden."
He indicated that Kennedy is more likely to pull votes from Biden and is therefore "great for MAGA" — and for Trump's chances of victory.
"RFK Jr. is, as you know, the most radical left candidate in the race ... more so than .... even Crooked Joe Biden. But he's got some nice things about him, I happen to like him," said Trump.
"If I were a Democrat, I'd vote for RFK Jr. every single time over Biden, because he's frankly more in line with Democrats," Trump added.
To make it crystal clear that he wants voters to believe Kennedy will be a problem for Biden, — and not him —Trump added that Kennedy is "Crooked Joe Biden's political opponent, not mine."
While the Kennedy family legacy is solidly Democrat, many of RFK Jr.'s positions are more akin to Trump's than Biden's. Kennedy is a conspiracy theorist, and a fundraising email from his campaign recently called Jan. 6 rioters "activists," not lawbreakers (which he later called an "unfortunate error.") He also vowed to investigate prosecutions of those who stormed the Capital for "political bias."
It's not yet clear which candidate he'll pull the most votes from. Polling in early March indicated that Kennedy represented more competition for Biden than Trump.
But Brian Seitchik, a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign veteran, said after Kennedy entered the race that his "positions are going to more appeal to Republican voters and therefore pull votes out of Donald Trump.
Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis also warned in a speech last year that "RFK Jr. will be a vessel for anti-lockdown and anti-Fauci voters if Trump is the nominee. That would hurt Trump," he added.
