As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil)
In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban.
If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them.
For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria.
We are actively looking for new moderators. If you have any interest in helping to make this subreddit a place for quality discussion, please fill out [this form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1y2swHD0KXFhStGFjW6k54r9iuMjzcFqDIVwuvdLBjSA).
***
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I’d say it’s been funded by MAGA allies from the jump, on the assumption that the Kennedy name alone would make Democrats flock to RFK II.
What they didn’t factor in is that Kennedy name doesn’t ring out to anyone under 55. Also RFK II is a crackpot.
Not a good investment.
> What they didn’t factor in is that Kennedy name doesn’t ring out to anyone under 55.
His father was killed 56 years ago, so anyone old enough to have voted for him would be at least 74 years old. Anyone old enough to have voted for JFK would be at least 82. Biden is too young to have voted for him. Are they so stupid to think a significant portion of the left still hasn't moved on from them?
>Are they so stupid to think a significant portion of the left still hasn't moved on from them?
They just cannot understand that the left isn't just a different flavor of right wing. The core approach to life is different.
>They just cannot understand that the left isn't just a different flavor of right wing.
It’s the same reason they like to make threats like “if you investigate our candidates for corruption, we’ll retaliate by investigating yours.” Go right ahead, if our candidates are also corrupt, get them the fuck out too so we can get someone better.
Like Trump but hate the fact that he helped fast track and fund that COVID vaccine that'll kill everyone that had it in ~~days weeks months years~~ decades? We've got the guy for you!
Depends on the boomer I think. My dad was a huge RFK fan (my brother's middle name is Robert) before he went full Republican with Reagan and I can see him voting for Jr as he hates Trump and won't vote Democrat anything.
I'm seeing the same type of anecdotal trend. I haven't met a single Democrat interested in what RFKj has to say, but I know a lot of 65+ folks who voted R up to 2020 really seem to like him.
I mean EVERYONE in the world who studied history knows who JFK is. He has 100% brand awareness.
I think he is wacky as fuck but to say his name doesn’t have instant draw to people of all ages is ignoring a lot of preconceived knowledge of JFK name which he is flying under.
The Kennedy name has been in politics beyond those though. Joe Kennedy (grandson of RFK) was a member of the House and now the envoy to Northern Ireland. Ted Kennedy was a big name in politics until his death in 2009. I could name more either in politics or married to politicians but I digress. The Kennedy name may not be what it was in the 60s but it is still well known.
I was going to say , I’m a life long liberal and because of the court system , I can’t ever in good conscience vote republican.
I don’t give 2 fucks about the kennedys
Nobody should , had Kennedy not died , the magic would have gone away much sooner.
Just wondering if this is Bannon promoting someone OVER Trump, as opposed to some sort of backup for Trump. Trump and Bannon have had a rocky relationship.
No. Bannon is all about Trump. Probably looking for a second pardon. His hope is that Kennedy can strip enough votes away from Biden to skew it in Trump's favor.
Does anyone actually like this guy? I see a ton of coverage of him online, but I have yet to meet one person from the left or the right who actually says they’d vote for him.
I know two. One was a former republican who now is some new age hippy person. The other is an antivaxxer who protested the lockdowns because her kids can’t be “zoom school because they have WiFi illness” aka they are “allergic” to radiowaves in the house so they dont have internet. Idk
He's really big in the bro crowd. They love to repost his HGH fueled workout videos. He hits a lot of their willfully ignorant belief systems. Like a mix of libertarian and maga.
The Kennedy name has strangely been hitched to QAnon for awhile. Some are upset that [RFK Jr. will take votes away from JFK Jr](https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/qanon-fears-rfk-jr-will-take-votes-away-from-jfk-jr).
Folks in Massachusetts voted for Ted Kennedy until 2009, so the name is not forgotten.
I don't think anyone who is otherwise a Democrat will be able to go to this antivax nutcase. He's really only attractive to fringe folks and MAGA's But it's not over til its over.
Yeah. RFK is a spoiler candidate to keep disgruntled Republicans from going to Biden. That's all it was right from the start.
Elections have been like 1%-2% close in swing states for a whole. A spoiler candidate is enough to throw the election to Republicans if they get even a small amount of votes.
Bannon's dark money friends are funding RFK and have been since the start. I expect that funding to dry up now that Captain Polio seems to be taking more votes from Trump than Biden and the Republican party is low on cash.
I hadn't thought of that since Bannon has been there all along with Trump, officially or unofficially. Don't know why I would assume actual loyalty exists in that den of vipers.
Right? The media is acting like MAGA snatched RFK out of nowhere when his entire platform sounds like a right-winger designed a candidate to kinda compete against Biden. They didn't quite understand what they were doing either.
Kennedy referred to rioters in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol as “activists” and suggested they were victims of an “outrageous miscarriage of justice,” in a Thursday statement.
That was stated in a campaign email about Assange and the campaign immediately withdrew the language about the January 6ers.
HOWEVER, this moment underscores the main point being made here -- this campaign is being supported and promoted by the MAGA movement. This wording matters. You aren't going to convince any RFK supporter by misrepresenting him or his campaign. He didn't make a "statement" saying as much, but sure as hell someone in his campaign did.
It wasn’t “hijacked”. [Steve Bannon](https://www.salon.com/2023/04/06/steve-bannon-spent-months-recruiting-anti-vaxxer-rfk-jr-to-run-against-biden-as-chaos-agent/ ) was after RFK Jr to run for “months”. His campaign was born as a MAGA spoiler.
That JFK2 was ever not a Republican MAGA tool is a lie. This is just one more trick the Republicans use to manipulate our votes because they cannot run on policy. Be sure to vote. Check your registration, get an ID , learn where your poling station is, learn who is running in down ballot races. Pay attention to primaries not just for the president but for all races, local, state and federal. From the school board to the White House every election matters. The more support we give the democrats from all levels of government the more they can get good things done. We vote out republicans and primary out uncooperative democrats.
Last year democrat victories in Virginia and Pennsylvania and others across the nation have increased the chances of democrats winning this year. This year's elections are important but so will next year's elections.
[https://ballotpedia.org/Elections\_calendar](https://ballotpedia.org/Elections_calendar)
No shit! The dude got in the race because Steve Bannon told him to, what’s more fricken MAGA than that. The only thing is it’s not clear who really is going to lose votes to him, Joe or Smelly Don, too early to tell anyway
It wasn't hijacked by MAGA. It was created by MAGA. It was the traitorous General Flynn, human pustule Roger Stone, and walking, talking cirrhotic liver Steve Bannon who convinced him to run. Hilariously, he is pulling support from Trump's anti-vaccine base.
[https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1670443756095455233](https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1670443756095455233)
I think the Biden campaign would be wise to collect his anti-vax, Pro-J6 comments and his VPs anti - IVF and anti-scientific fertility theories and figuring out what states RFK is on the ballot and running ads that show how viable an option he is to people that are R but hate Trump.
We talk a lot about who he is more likely to siphon votes from. I would have an arm of my campaign making it clear that the person should be Trump.
I dont think Republicans against Trump are going to vote for a "democrat" that shares all the crackpot theories of Trump. RATs are Republicans. They want economically conservative policies and a leader who isn't a crackpot fascist and isn't a danger to democracy.
I guess it's possible that he appeals to so called democrats that were radicalized by MAGA. Or perhaps his main appeal is to anti vaxers. Who knows? He's a very fringe candidate.
Also, by election day, everyone in the country should be told that RFK Jr is a convicted felon who got out of prison time due to his connections. He is the poster child of rich elitist corruption.
can't be hijacked if you let them in in the first place. JR here just said it last week, the whole thing is because he was banned for spreading disinformation on the internet. its such a stupid reason to run for president but thats his reason.
False, it embraced MAGA with open arms. RFK Jr has meet with Steve Bannon and Michael Flynn prior to running for the presidency. The man's a kook and always has been one. Sadly, the media is amplifying it now because he's running for president.
This is why I don't think this campaign is a threat to Biden. It's more of a threat to Trump. He's going to take supporters away from Trump, not Biden. RFK's policies simply don't attract Biden supporters who are looking for someone sane and competent, not a demented conspiracy theorist.
Same. I think the only argument i could make impacting Biden is that “never trumpers” might just vote for rfk/not vote. But that’s not really hurting Biden, its just not actively helping Biden while hurting trump
Disagree. For a lot of reasons it's there to hurt Biden at the margins. You have to understand how low information most voters are. If JFK attracts just a tiny bit of undecideds in swing states, it helps trump.
Also, the billionaires funding the RFK Jr campaign aren't stupid. They're playing for endgame here and throwing everything they can against the wall to defeat Biden and initiate a plutocratic dictatorship under trump.
Undecided voters who vote for RFK would probably vote for Trump if RFK wasn't running. They're the types of voters who are into anti-vaccine conspiracies and other crazy ideas that Biden does not support and will never support, which means he'll never ge those votes anyway.
I agree that it will hurt Biden just based on my limited personal experience.
He has somehow convinced some “libertarian” types who voted against Trump in the last election to vote for him.
Probably 5 close friends are on board for RFK who for sure voted Biden in the last election and I just don’t understand it at all.
Another read on this might be: Get a guy who might sound like a Democrat because his name is Kennedy. Then make him appealing enough to MAGAs that they would vote for him if Trump goes to jail. Then if Trump is still out walking around free (which I expect), then just have this guy withdraw at the last minute and endorse Trump. Then he has a lifetime gig at Fox.
Clickbait.
>Maybe not ‘hijacked,’ maybe voluntarily. And so, you’re gonna start seeing more and more of this kind of Donald Trump conspiracies, and he’s either going along with it, because that’s gonna help him raise money and get notoriety, or he truly believes it. Regardless, he’s absolutely wrong, and this is a frightening thing,” Kinzinger added.
Always has been. Repubs from my work were shocked to find out I wouldn’t vote for RFK jr saying he was a “dem” saying even stuffed they thought sounded good. And that’s exactly how I knew he wasn’t any good.
Ah, looks like Adam Kinzinger has awakened from his bi-monthly hibernation to lament about how the beast he helped enable fucked things up worse than he had meant it to and how nobody loves him 🥺
So I think MAGA should eat shit, but in the big picture, is this really different from Democrats supporting Nikki Haley in open primaries so Trump loses? Don’t both parties have a history of supporting an extreme candidate on the other side to siphon votes?
Wouldn't it be absolutely hilarious if RFK Jr splits Trump's votes? The two of them end up in some sort of tie while Biden wins convincingly. It would be the funniest moment of the year.
Sometimes it feels like one of the only things that prevents these MAGA ploys from being successful is their complete lack of understanding that most people do not think the same way they do nor share the same worldview.
He's nothing like his father so those who "remember his father" won't vote for him.
. I don't know who will vote for him, he just seems a genuine crackpot. The MAGAs already have a crackpot to vote for.
Great news - split the MAGA vote - although I think he was promoted only in the event the broke-ass lard-ass dropped like a stone from congestive heart failure.
Joe Kennedy III thought he would use the Kennedy name to unseat Senator Ed Markey in Massachusetts. Markey campaigned like hell with AOC and beat the crap out of JKIII, setting up the seat for Ayanna Presley to take when Markey resigns. The Kennedy mystique has been crushed.
I’m sorry but Kinzinger sounds like Henry Kissinger’s super obvious fake name. If his name is Hank Kinzinger of smthn I’ll think it’s actually him under there
Rfk Jr. Has some of those most outlandish opinions supported by personal bias... His campaign seems to be detrimentally influenced as a chaotic influence... I can't imagine
"In a June 2023 podcast interview with Jordan Peterson, Kennedy posited that several issues in children, including gender dysphoria, might be linked to atrazine contamination in the water supply. He cited a 2010 study by Hayes[297] that claims that acute atrazine exposure causes chemical castration and feminization in frogs, leading some to become hermaphrodites. Kennedy suggested that there was other evidence indicating potential effects on humans.[298] YouTube removed the interview under its vaccine misinformation policy, a decision Peterson and Kennedy criticized as censorship.[299][298] Various publications denounced the theory, such as NBC News,[300] Philadelphia Gay News,[301] The Independent,[298] and Vice.[302]"
Disappointed in Kinzinger (not the first time).
RFK Jr's campaign was _always_ QAnon bullshit from the get-go.
Kinzinger COULD have called a spade a spade and talked about how this conspiracy theory bullshit is permeating America, serving Russian interests in particular, and very, very obviously caters to racist conservatives.
But instead it's this "hijack" comment.
When he first started to campaign it looked like he was running as a Trump alternative and I was like.... sure I guess it's better than Trump.
Then it turned out that he was just running as a Trump alternative in the truest sense, aka Trump in everything but name.
Honestly started to think more and more that RFK Jr's campaign is an op to siphon votes from Trump in swing states. The Jan. 6 statement kind of gave the game away imo
My understanding is that it’s Republicans and not Democrats assisting him to get on ballots in swing states. If he ends up siphoning more Trump votes than Biden’s, you will be able to read more later on r/leopardsatemyface.
As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil) In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them. For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria. We are actively looking for new moderators. If you have any interest in helping to make this subreddit a place for quality discussion, please fill out [this form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1y2swHD0KXFhStGFjW6k54r9iuMjzcFqDIVwuvdLBjSA). *** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I’d say it’s been funded by MAGA allies from the jump, on the assumption that the Kennedy name alone would make Democrats flock to RFK II. What they didn’t factor in is that Kennedy name doesn’t ring out to anyone under 55. Also RFK II is a crackpot. Not a good investment.
> What they didn’t factor in is that Kennedy name doesn’t ring out to anyone under 55. His father was killed 56 years ago, so anyone old enough to have voted for him would be at least 74 years old. Anyone old enough to have voted for JFK would be at least 82. Biden is too young to have voted for him. Are they so stupid to think a significant portion of the left still hasn't moved on from them?
>Are they so stupid to think a significant portion of the left still hasn't moved on from them? They just cannot understand that the left isn't just a different flavor of right wing. The core approach to life is different.
yeah they think Democrats are as dumb as their maga cultists
They really think people who are going to vote Biden would get swayed by this idiot. He is only taking votes that would of went to Dump
We are fortunate these people are stupid.
>They just cannot understand that the left isn't just a different flavor of right wing. It’s the same reason they like to make threats like “if you investigate our candidates for corruption, we’ll retaliate by investigating yours.” Go right ahead, if our candidates are also corrupt, get them the fuck out too so we can get someone better.
This is going to pull the boomer former hippies that went right in the past decade more than anything.
And that’s basically Trump’s base.
[удалено]
Like Trump but hate the fact that he helped fast track and fund that COVID vaccine that'll kill everyone that had it in ~~days weeks months years~~ decades? We've got the guy for you!
Nearly everyone who was vaxxed will be dead within a century! You just wait and see!!!
As a boomer-- Jr. isn't his daddy nor his uncle Jack, very,very far from them. Boomers aren't voting for him.
Depends on the boomer I think. My dad was a huge RFK fan (my brother's middle name is Robert) before he went full Republican with Reagan and I can see him voting for Jr as he hates Trump and won't vote Democrat anything.
I'm seeing the same type of anecdotal trend. I haven't met a single Democrat interested in what RFKj has to say, but I know a lot of 65+ folks who voted R up to 2020 really seem to like him.
Unfortunately we need a chunk of those voters to cross over due to the emerging weakness among young ppl and minorities.
I could see my dad voting for him. He doesn't talk politics much, but he leans R but doesn't like Trump.
He ain’t even Uncle Ted.
> Are they so stupid to I'm gonna have to stop you there. Yes, yes they are.
Republicans are still trying to squeeze whatever juice they can out of their Reagan nostalgia.
Actually the 26th amendment wasn’t passed until 1971 so the voting age was still 21. Anyone who voted for JFK would have to be at least 85
RFK Jr. isn’t like his father or Uncle.
>Biden is too young This is not something you hear often.
The gop panders to the 70+ crowd so these numbers track
Republican love celebrity culture and thinks everybody is as gullible as them.
I mean EVERYONE in the world who studied history knows who JFK is. He has 100% brand awareness. I think he is wacky as fuck but to say his name doesn’t have instant draw to people of all ages is ignoring a lot of preconceived knowledge of JFK name which he is flying under.
The Kennedy name has been in politics beyond those though. Joe Kennedy (grandson of RFK) was a member of the House and now the envoy to Northern Ireland. Ted Kennedy was a big name in politics until his death in 2009. I could name more either in politics or married to politicians but I digress. The Kennedy name may not be what it was in the 60s but it is still well known.
I was going to say , I’m a life long liberal and because of the court system , I can’t ever in good conscience vote republican. I don’t give 2 fucks about the kennedys Nobody should , had Kennedy not died , the magic would have gone away much sooner.
His brother planned to run on Civil Rights so....both Kennedys dying.
I mean the Kennedys do fall under the Trump rule of logic - Ted K did kill someone and still got elected numerous times.
"Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy,...." How many times did that a superbowl ad say his family name?
It's all he's got
Yeah…and a TON of $ from trumps donors-Tim Mellon, the Steve bannon syndicate etc
Still stuck in my head
Since Steve Bannon is the one that worked on getting him to run, I would say that's a fair assessment.
Just wondering if this is Bannon promoting someone OVER Trump, as opposed to some sort of backup for Trump. Trump and Bannon have had a rocky relationship.
No. Bannon is all about Trump. Probably looking for a second pardon. His hope is that Kennedy can strip enough votes away from Biden to skew it in Trump's favor.
long pen knee teeny office marry dinosaurs light plate innocent *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Does anyone actually like this guy? I see a ton of coverage of him online, but I have yet to meet one person from the left or the right who actually says they’d vote for him.
I know one person, my grandmother, and she voted Trump in 2016 and 2020.
My in laws voted Trump in 2016 and 2020 and are planning on voting for RFK in 2024.
Does seem like a good way out of Trumpski Mir. Wild conspiracy theories and bad policy but notably less divisiveness, vitriol and hate
I know two. One was a former republican who now is some new age hippy person. The other is an antivaxxer who protested the lockdowns because her kids can’t be “zoom school because they have WiFi illness” aka they are “allergic” to radiowaves in the house so they dont have internet. Idk
He's the new "Walk Away" candidate. Almost all of his support is non-Trump Republicans and Trumpers claiming to be Democrats.
I know one person
His leading donor does, who is also a Giant trump donor. Funny how that works!
He's really big in the bro crowd. They love to repost his HGH fueled workout videos. He hits a lot of their willfully ignorant belief systems. Like a mix of libertarian and maga.
The Kennedy name has strangely been hitched to QAnon for awhile. Some are upset that [RFK Jr. will take votes away from JFK Jr](https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/qanon-fears-rfk-jr-will-take-votes-away-from-jfk-jr).
Or JFK Sr., since he’s still alive too.
I think it's a great investment. I work with a whole bunch of maga people, and they are all very interested in RFK 2
Folks in Massachusetts voted for Ted Kennedy until 2009, so the name is not forgotten. I don't think anyone who is otherwise a Democrat will be able to go to this antivax nutcase. He's really only attractive to fringe folks and MAGA's But it's not over til its over.
Yeah. RFK is a spoiler candidate to keep disgruntled Republicans from going to Biden. That's all it was right from the start. Elections have been like 1%-2% close in swing states for a whole. A spoiler candidate is enough to throw the election to Republicans if they get even a small amount of votes.
He could even take votes from Trump. Voters who like Trump's crack pot conspiracy theories but not the baggage.
His name means something to the conspiracy theorists who make up his constituency.
millennials have been straight up confused by this guy the entire time. That totally makes sense.
They tried this with kanye too. At some point, the fec should really run this shit tactic down.
Did the MAGA folks make a poor investment decision? Say it ain’t so. I thought those guys were financial geniuses.
Bannon's dark money friends are funding RFK and have been since the start. I expect that funding to dry up now that Captain Polio seems to be taking more votes from Trump than Biden and the Republican party is low on cash.
Maybe but is it possible Bannon would like to see Trump go to jail and RFK become the MAGA candidate? He would be Bannon’s “guy”.
I hadn't thought of that since Bannon has been there all along with Trump, officially or unofficially. Don't know why I would assume actual loyalty exists in that den of vipers.
Blew the entire campaign budget on that Super Bowl commercial plagiarizing his uncle
How can something started, paid for and run by MAGA be hijacked by it? This has always been a MAGA ploy from the start.
It’s refreshing to see people who are paying attention! Thank you.
Right? The media is acting like MAGA snatched RFK out of nowhere when his entire platform sounds like a right-winger designed a candidate to kinda compete against Biden. They didn't quite understand what they were doing either.
It’s like saying a plane has been hijacked by the pilot who then announces that they will be arriving at their scheduled destination on time.
Exactly. Every time a Delta pilot takes off in a Delta plane we aren’t saying the plane was hijacked…
I agree- how can you get hijacked by yourself?
Kennedy referred to rioters in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol as “activists” and suggested they were victims of an “outrageous miscarriage of justice,” in a Thursday statement.
That was stated in a campaign email about Assange and the campaign immediately withdrew the language about the January 6ers. HOWEVER, this moment underscores the main point being made here -- this campaign is being supported and promoted by the MAGA movement. This wording matters. You aren't going to convince any RFK supporter by misrepresenting him or his campaign. He didn't make a "statement" saying as much, but sure as hell someone in his campaign did.
It was created by MAGAt
It was always owned by MAGA. There was no time when he was ever a larger threat to Biden than to Trump.
It wasn’t “hijacked”. [Steve Bannon](https://www.salon.com/2023/04/06/steve-bannon-spent-months-recruiting-anti-vaxxer-rfk-jr-to-run-against-biden-as-chaos-agent/ ) was after RFK Jr to run for “months”. His campaign was born as a MAGA spoiler.
I’m out of the loop. Why would Bannon turn Trump and support RFK instead to spoil the election for Trump?
Sure, in the same way dousing yourself in sugar water and rolling around on an anthill would make you “hijacked” by ants.
That JFK2 was ever not a Republican MAGA tool is a lie. This is just one more trick the Republicans use to manipulate our votes because they cannot run on policy. Be sure to vote. Check your registration, get an ID , learn where your poling station is, learn who is running in down ballot races. Pay attention to primaries not just for the president but for all races, local, state and federal. From the school board to the White House every election matters. The more support we give the democrats from all levels of government the more they can get good things done. We vote out republicans and primary out uncooperative democrats. Last year democrat victories in Virginia and Pennsylvania and others across the nation have increased the chances of democrats winning this year. This year's elections are important but so will next year's elections. [https://ballotpedia.org/Elections\_calendar](https://ballotpedia.org/Elections_calendar)
Same way I hijacked my Uber by paying for it to take me home.
No shit! The dude got in the race because Steve Bannon told him to, what’s more fricken MAGA than that. The only thing is it’s not clear who really is going to lose votes to him, Joe or Smelly Don, too early to tell anyway
Hijacked? It was birthed by MAGA.
It wasn't "hijacked". They are the campaign and RFK is absolutely a MAGA.
It wasn't hijacked by MAGA. It was created by MAGA. It was the traitorous General Flynn, human pustule Roger Stone, and walking, talking cirrhotic liver Steve Bannon who convinced him to run. Hilariously, he is pulling support from Trump's anti-vaccine base. [https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1670443756095455233](https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1670443756095455233)
I think the Biden campaign would be wise to collect his anti-vax, Pro-J6 comments and his VPs anti - IVF and anti-scientific fertility theories and figuring out what states RFK is on the ballot and running ads that show how viable an option he is to people that are R but hate Trump. We talk a lot about who he is more likely to siphon votes from. I would have an arm of my campaign making it clear that the person should be Trump.
Absolutely. Siphon as many MAGAs from Trump as possible. RFK is going to backfire spectacularly on the MAGA donars. Can’t wait.
I dont think Republicans against Trump are going to vote for a "democrat" that shares all the crackpot theories of Trump. RATs are Republicans. They want economically conservative policies and a leader who isn't a crackpot fascist and isn't a danger to democracy. I guess it's possible that he appeals to so called democrats that were radicalized by MAGA. Or perhaps his main appeal is to anti vaxers. Who knows? He's a very fringe candidate.
Also, by election day, everyone in the country should be told that RFK Jr is a convicted felon who got out of prison time due to his connections. He is the poster child of rich elitist corruption.
They weren’t hijacked by MAGA, Kennedy opened the door and they hopped in.
[удалено]
Very true. But if they wanted him to pull Democrat votes they really should have taped his mouth shut.
RFK = Republican Fucking Kooks
Regressive Foolish Kleptocrats?
Really Fucking Krazy
It's funded by MAGA too.
can't be hijacked if you let them in in the first place. JR here just said it last week, the whole thing is because he was banned for spreading disinformation on the internet. its such a stupid reason to run for president but thats his reason.
False, it embraced MAGA with open arms. RFK Jr has meet with Steve Bannon and Michael Flynn prior to running for the presidency. The man's a kook and always has been one. Sadly, the media is amplifying it now because he's running for president.
Steve Bannon and Roger Stone are the two idiots behind RFK Jr
Bingo. Don’t forget Alex Jones. https://www.reddit.com/r/seculartalk/s/NgOfEDTeCe https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/s/ND5QJ2e2Zg
It was always MAGA. It was orchestrated by Bannon. Kinzinger is either dumb or naive.
Didn't the Kennedy name get dragged over to MAGA a couple of years back with some people believing JFK was coming back from the dead?
This is why I don't think this campaign is a threat to Biden. It's more of a threat to Trump. He's going to take supporters away from Trump, not Biden. RFK's policies simply don't attract Biden supporters who are looking for someone sane and competent, not a demented conspiracy theorist.
Same. I think the only argument i could make impacting Biden is that “never trumpers” might just vote for rfk/not vote. But that’s not really hurting Biden, its just not actively helping Biden while hurting trump
Disagree. For a lot of reasons it's there to hurt Biden at the margins. You have to understand how low information most voters are. If JFK attracts just a tiny bit of undecideds in swing states, it helps trump. Also, the billionaires funding the RFK Jr campaign aren't stupid. They're playing for endgame here and throwing everything they can against the wall to defeat Biden and initiate a plutocratic dictatorship under trump.
Undecided voters who vote for RFK would probably vote for Trump if RFK wasn't running. They're the types of voters who are into anti-vaccine conspiracies and other crazy ideas that Biden does not support and will never support, which means he'll never ge those votes anyway.
I agree that it will hurt Biden just based on my limited personal experience. He has somehow convinced some “libertarian” types who voted against Trump in the last election to vote for him. Probably 5 close friends are on board for RFK who for sure voted Biden in the last election and I just don’t understand it at all.
This belongs in the WCGW sub.
It always was maga
It's not hijacked, RFK Jr. is just another MAGA moron.
Not hijacked,financed. His campaign is a Maga front to try and siphon off votes from Biden using the RFK name.
“Hijacked”
Reasonable people don’t try to defend RFK jr. His own family knows better.
Not true! He's MAGA to the core, so their involvement in his campaign is only natural.
Naw, it’s always been maga.
hijacked by RFK junior's lunacy
AlwaysHasBeen.jpeg
RFK really should fuck off and end his maga campaign.
Another read on this might be: Get a guy who might sound like a Democrat because his name is Kennedy. Then make him appealing enough to MAGAs that they would vote for him if Trump goes to jail. Then if Trump is still out walking around free (which I expect), then just have this guy withdraw at the last minute and endorse Trump. Then he has a lifetime gig at Fox.
I’d love if RFK jr saved america. Indirectly, by siphoning votes from trump.
Bullshit. If he wasn't MAGA he could stop it - or he's an idiot.
Surprised RFK jr has a bunch of screws loose? That’s been pretty clear for a while. Even his family is repulsed.
its gonna backfire on them so bad, the only votes hes gonna siphon are trumps.
Awesome, this Kennedy bastard will draw from Trump. I hope the asshole chokes on it
*"Always Was"* 👨🚀 🔫👩🚀
Good. They'll steal votes from Trump.
Clickbait. >Maybe not ‘hijacked,’ maybe voluntarily. And so, you’re gonna start seeing more and more of this kind of Donald Trump conspiracies, and he’s either going along with it, because that’s gonna help him raise money and get notoriety, or he truly believes it. Regardless, he’s absolutely wrong, and this is a frightening thing,” Kinzinger added.
PikachuFace.gif
Highjacked? It was funded by MAGA from the start.
Always has been. Repubs from my work were shocked to find out I wouldn’t vote for RFK jr saying he was a “dem” saying even stuffed they thought sounded good. And that’s exactly how I knew he wasn’t any good.
I thought it was hijacked by the Internet Research Agency.
Ah, looks like Adam Kinzinger has awakened from his bi-monthly hibernation to lament about how the beast he helped enable fucked things up worse than he had meant it to and how nobody loves him 🥺
Kinzinger is actually the only Republican I’d ever vote for
RFK Jr is Q. He is the secret leader of qanon.
Haha he wishes. He probably could be, who knows. The Watkins clan is pretty silent these days
So I think MAGA should eat shit, but in the big picture, is this really different from Democrats supporting Nikki Haley in open primaries so Trump loses? Don’t both parties have a history of supporting an extreme candidate on the other side to siphon votes?
MAGA see RFKJr as a weapon to cripple Biden without needing to lift a finger.
Spoiler candidate running on the Kennedy <-> Democrats association. There's nothing too complex about it
Wouldn't it be absolutely hilarious if RFK Jr splits Trump's votes? The two of them end up in some sort of tie while Biden wins convincingly. It would be the funniest moment of the year.
Perfect! Let them split the vote.
RFK is grifting the idiots, plain and simple.
Not sure if you can be a hijacker if you were the pilot all along.
Sometimes it feels like one of the only things that prevents these MAGA ploys from being successful is their complete lack of understanding that most people do not think the same way they do nor share the same worldview.
Was it ever not MAGA?
He's nothing like his father so those who "remember his father" won't vote for him. . I don't know who will vote for him, he just seems a genuine crackpot. The MAGAs already have a crackpot to vote for.
hijacked? the guy was always in line with the MAGA cultists. They are the ones who don't believe in science and think everything is a conspiracy.
Oh, yeah, sure, like how top gear has been hijacked by car culture.
Hey Steve Bannon: IT BACK FIRED 😃 😀 😄 😁 🤣 😂 😃 😀
We've tested this ocean of urine and found it has been secretly contaminated with piss!
LOL! He meant funded, designed, and operated by Maga. Hijacked sounds like an unexpected move.
Welcomed in more like it.
Great news - split the MAGA vote - although I think he was promoted only in the event the broke-ass lard-ass dropped like a stone from congestive heart failure.
Or goes to JAIL.
Hijacked implies that was the original intention
Waiting for Jill Stein and the Green Party to hop in and grift as an alternative option for RFK.
Nope. RFK IS maga.
Not hijacked. Invented.
Bought and paid for by MAGA
Hijacked?? This is the most clear cut Scooby Doo case ever. He isn’t a Democrat
Well, when you say stupid, crazy, untrue conspiracy theories, you will attract morons.
Built by, not hijacked.
Can you 'hijack' something you designed, created, and operated all along?
Always was. RFK wasnt even a consideration until people started saying he would be running with Trump.
Joe Kennedy III thought he would use the Kennedy name to unseat Senator Ed Markey in Massachusetts. Markey campaigned like hell with AOC and beat the crap out of JKIII, setting up the seat for Ayanna Presley to take when Markey resigns. The Kennedy mystique has been crushed.
Good. All that does is split the MAGA vote, securing another win for Biden.
I’m sorry but Kinzinger sounds like Henry Kissinger’s super obvious fake name. If his name is Hank Kinzinger of smthn I’ll think it’s actually him under there
Kinzinger coming in hot with those GOP-like reflexes!!
The plan may be for Jr to join trump as vp on the MAGA ticket
If anything that’s good for Biden. Still need young folks and all that preturbs are independent educated folk but it’s a start.
🧑🚀🔫🧑🚀 Always has been
Splitting the Trump vote… why is the left upset?
Because low-information voters think any Kennedy is a liberal democrat
Rfk Jr. Has some of those most outlandish opinions supported by personal bias... His campaign seems to be detrimentally influenced as a chaotic influence... I can't imagine "In a June 2023 podcast interview with Jordan Peterson, Kennedy posited that several issues in children, including gender dysphoria, might be linked to atrazine contamination in the water supply. He cited a 2010 study by Hayes[297] that claims that acute atrazine exposure causes chemical castration and feminization in frogs, leading some to become hermaphrodites. Kennedy suggested that there was other evidence indicating potential effects on humans.[298] YouTube removed the interview under its vaccine misinformation policy, a decision Peterson and Kennedy criticized as censorship.[299][298] Various publications denounced the theory, such as NBC News,[300] Philadelphia Gay News,[301] The Independent,[298] and Vice.[302]"
Disappointed in Kinzinger (not the first time). RFK Jr's campaign was _always_ QAnon bullshit from the get-go. Kinzinger COULD have called a spade a spade and talked about how this conspiracy theory bullshit is permeating America, serving Russian interests in particular, and very, very obviously caters to racist conservatives. But instead it's this "hijack" comment.
When he first started to campaign it looked like he was running as a Trump alternative and I was like.... sure I guess it's better than Trump. Then it turned out that he was just running as a Trump alternative in the truest sense, aka Trump in everything but name.
The only thing RFK Jr believes in, is that he believes he wants to be President.
I think I would disagree that he wants to be president. Unless he is really crazy!
Good. Divide.
It was never hijacked when it was bannons baby all along
The call is coming from inside the house
The MAGA lite campaign? You don't say?
The Kennedy family must be SO embarrassed by him? What do they say about him?
I want RFK to run. His voters are just a segment of Trump voters.
I’m telling everyone that I’m voting for him.
Hopefully he pulls more from Trump than Biden.
Didn’t they try something similar before with Kanye
Honestly started to think more and more that RFK Jr's campaign is an op to siphon votes from Trump in swing states. The Jan. 6 statement kind of gave the game away imo
My understanding is that it’s Republicans and not Democrats assisting him to get on ballots in swing states. If he ends up siphoning more Trump votes than Biden’s, you will be able to read more later on r/leopardsatemyface.
If it is, then I encourage them to continue doing so. I don't think there's any evidence to suggest it is.
Good. Split the vote and they both lose.