- James Carville said RFK Jr.’s White House bid could be more of a drag on Trump than Biden.
- “Bobby Kennedy might hurt Trump more than he hurts Biden,” he told MSNBC’s Ari Melber last week.
- RFK Jr. said last week that his candidacy would be a “spoiler” for both Biden and Trump.
Democratic strategist James Carville, in a recent MSNBC interview, said that independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign might be a drag on former President Donald Trump’s 2024 bid.
While many observers say Kennedy Jr.’s campaign would harm Biden, the veteran Democratic strategist took the opposite view.
“I actually think Bobby Kennedy might hurt Trump more than he hurts Biden,” he told host Ari Melber last week.
In recent polling of three-way matchups between Biden, Trump, and Kennedy Jr., the former president is often slightly ahead.
Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer who last week selected lawyer Nicole Shanahan as his vice presidential running mate, said recently that he intended to be a “spoiler” for both Biden and Trump — arguing that he’d appeal to voters who wanted a break from the two major-party candidates.
“Our campaign is a spoiler all right,” Kennedy Jr. said during an event last week welcoming Shanahan to the ticket. “It is a spoiler for the war machine. It is a spoiler for Wall Street, Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Pharma, the corporate media, and all of the corrupt politicians and corporations.”
Kennedy Jr., the son of the late New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, is averaging 12.3% support in national polling in a three-way race, according to RealClearPolling.
Based on polling taken from late January through late March, Trump and Biden are each averaging 40.7% and 35.3%, respectively, in a three-way contest with Kennedy Jr.
In a pure matchup between Biden and Trump, the former president is averaging a slim 1-point lead over the incumbent (46.5%-45.5%) in March polling, according to RealClearPolling.
Carville, who warned about cracks in the Democratic Party’s electoral foundation, also expressed concern about the presidential campaigns of Cornel West and Jill Stein.
The strategist noted that a slice of Americans have a “Just F the whole thing” view of the election and stated: “Biden is not gonna get any of the ‘F it all’ vote, OK?”
“Now what worries me is Cornel West and Jill Stein because they’re going to get some of the ‘F it all’ vote, too,” he added.
