The Kennedy Injection
WaPo has a story about negotiations between Trump and RFK Jr over a potential position “overseeing a portfolio of health and medical issues” in a hypothetical second Trump term. It follows the release of a video on July 16 recording a call between the two men.
The possibility of an RFK Jr role in a Trump Administration is not new. As the NBC report on the recording described, such an idea was floated and (like this one) dismissed during the 2016 transition.
I want to look closely at this report, though, for what it might say about (what I assume is) a giant ratfuck otherwise intended to help Trump win.
The two stories and public developments describe these events:
- July 13: RFK Jr publicly comments about the Trump shooting, including on Hannity, and describes sending a note to Trump
- Later on July 13: “a person who knows both men reached out to Kennedy on Saturday night” and RFK Jr says he’d be willing to speak to Trump
- Still later on July 13: Tucker Carlson sends RFK Jr a group text with a phone number used by Trump
- Still on July 13: RFK Jr and Trump speak by phone
- July 14: Video reportedly recorded
- July 15: RFK Jr and Trump meet in Milwaukee
- July 15 or 16: RFK Jr departs Milwaukee for unforeseen reasons
- July 16: NBC publishes the video, which was posted by RFK III; RFK Jr claims its release was unintentional
- July 21: After Biden drops out, RFK Jr makes a bid to get involved in his replacement, but also accuses Trump of secretly representing corporate interests
- July 22: RFK Jr interviews with WaPo, revealing the discussions
It all reads like RFK Jr tried to make a demand on July 15, Trump refused, and everything since has been RFK Jr trying to damage Trump for that refusal (possibly, with today’s story, as an attempt by Trump allies to do damage control).
It comes amid recent polling that show RFK Jr draws more away from Trump than he does (or did) from Biden. That is, if this is part of a larger ratfuck to fund third party candidates to draw away from a Democratic nominee, it may be backfiring, having the opposite effect.
A nomination-plus-position would have ended that risk. But thus far at least, it failed.
Is there any idea what leverage RFK Jr. might have thought he had over a well-known egotist who was just starting an almost literal coronation at the RNC? It just seems such an odd time to to try to muscle into things with a presidential candidate sure to be more paranoid than usual after events literally days earlier and surrounded by literally thousands of screaming fans.
My #1 theory: the guy’s just dumb and egotistical; he thinks he has more clout than he really does.
I’ll hope that’s all there is to it. It’ll mean he’s through after this stunt and should just slide into even further irrelevance.
People like that are never “through” — at least in their minds. They’re like dandelions — always popping up, no matter how many times you dig them out.
No, it would mean that he’d have more of an inclination to eat into the dumb-as-shit ‘undecided’ vote from Mr Big Mouth.
My impression of RFK Jr. is basically that he’s a wannabe autocrat. He wants to be admired by his crowd and exert charismatic influence over them in a primarily emotional fashion. His “base” consists anti-vaxxers, libertarians and idealistic young people who are disillusioned with everything else on offer. By using conspiracy theories, sweeping policy pronouncements that have little chance of practical implementation, and yes, being a bully (watch some of his more contentious interviews if you can stand it), that’s his idea of being an “alternative politician”.
Trump behaved similarly in 2015-6 but by virtue of actually becoming president and experiencing the actual power of the office, he took giant steps toward becoming the autocrat that he’s always wanted to me. RFK Jr. is a human being with similar ambitions but in a much smaller sphere. IMO.
My take is that RFK Jr believes that he will grab a fair share of the “older democratic voters” as well, who will vote for him on name-brand alone. I doubt that will happen though.
First, it was not a phone conversation. It was a Trump monologue, with that not a surprise. The impression I got is after Trump has publicly touted the speed of the development of the Covid vaccines where they came out just as his term was ending, him giving the impetus, Kennedy has him belittling vaccines, as a clear, regular Trump tell ’em what you think they want to hear bullshit thing, with no real anchor beliefs other than Trump uber alles, good people on both sides weaseling.
There is an ambiguity. With a negative reaction, you say Kennedy pulled the item. Kennedy fades, at least for now, with the story being Harris vs Trump which is the same ultimate November vote in a new posture, and a new thing to get clicks online.
Kennedy staying in is what surprises. He has to know nothing is there but spoiler status, and then he spoils things for whom; independent of what his intent might be or was.
Whatever, the video has been captured and posted here, which is a good thing.
He apparently thought he was in a position to make demands and get benefits for himself. He apparently can’t read *any* room well.
I suppose you could say the same about Trump, who walked away empty-handed while Kennedy presumably held onto his voters.
All two of ’em!*
*himself, his “running mate,” but probably not his wife Cheryl Hines.
How is this not a quid pro quo?
I’m surprised Trump didn’t lie and say “sure, you’ll be head of XYZ” and never intend to honor his word.
It always struck me as more likely that RFK would pull more from Trump than Biden. For sure, the vax lunacy was the most obvious reason, however once he came out and started talking about Stewie as a political prisoner that sealed it. There’s something amusingly aspirational about the “Dems are spending millions to torpedo my campaign” line, used by both RFK himself and Bannon. I don’t know if that’s an accurate representation of the state of play— but boy, do they both WISH that were the case.
Delightful to see this blow up in the ratfucker’s faces in any event. Definitely some huffing-too-much-of-one’s-own-farts vibes from Bannon here. Ah well, he has at least a few months of spare time to ruminate.
Clever title for the anti-vaxer, EW!
I try. Lessons from the master.
it’s a syringe gesture, but you shouldn’t encourage me being vein… :~)
Jokes like that? There artery a law.
Needless to say, I appreciate you both giving your best shot.
Read that as Needles to say…
Dose were the daze.
I felt a little prick when I read the headline, but it didn’t hurt.
Nice tourniquet of a phrase.
Reducing vaxes for the healthy or reducing taxes for the wealthy – which shall it be?
In the home page photo, he looks like Uncle Martin from My Favorite Martian. Trying to levitate himself into a position of power, with that phone? Not working.
h/t to the brilliant character actor ray walston. don’t know anything about his politics though.
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ta. will do. sorry to make you do that.
The brain-wormed, dog eating, anti-child health candidate dives for scraps at Trump’s table. Their lives are a fantasy. And they damage people
This almost sounds like a haiku. He is so unworthy of poetry.
Bullets and bone shards
bring us into our shared depths;
we wound the living.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is a very boring, unremarkable, capricious heir who has spent most of his adult life squandering the trust fund he inherited from the Kennedy family.
I doubt Republicans will vote for him, but ignorant Democrats might.
I’d like to know who or what entities have been paying him to campaign.
Republicans. And his “running mate”, who seems to be uninvolved.
“I’d like to know who or what entities have been paying him to campaign.”
Timothy Mellon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Mellon
So I’ll admit it — I really liked RFK Jr back in the day. He’s done good environmental work, and I was a regular listener to Ring of Fire — the radio show he did with Mike Papantonio.
It saddened me when he fell down the anti-vaxx rabbit hole, but it made sense — if you spend your time battling Big Pharma, eventually you aren’t going to trust anything they do, even when they are doing good things. I take it as a cautionary tale for defining your positions by being *against* someone, rather than being *for* a set of ideals — eventually that thinking will lead to taking nonsensical positions.
So I have a lot of empathy for him, but it is time for him to go away now. He obviously doesn’t belong anywhere near contemporary politics.
He won’t be missed, or suffer hardship. He made $10 million last year, $8.6 million of it from his environmental law firm.
Also, I’m sure his wife gets ample residuals from Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes…
VP Harris holds a 2 point lead over Trump in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll in a 2-person race, conducted on Monday and Tuesday, which followed both the Republican National Convention and the Biden announcement on Sunday that he was leaving the race and endorsing Harris.
The same poll showed Harris with a 4 point lead when respondents were shown a hypothetical ballot that included RFK, Jr. In other word, Harris doubles her lead over Trump in a 3 way race.
Doubled yes, but the flip side of that is that the difference between the point leads is inside the margin of error. When you add a wealth of past results that indicate 3rd party candidates almost always fall short of their poll numbers by at least a percent or two, there is suggestive evidence that he won’t be quite the spoiler he hopes to be.