Former Obama advisor Johanna Maska warned Democrats Friday on CNN not to “demonize” independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s supporters after his withdrawal from key battleground states.
Kennedy announced Friday that he would end his campaign in major swing states and urged voters there to consider voting for former President Donald Trump. While criticizing Kennedy as unfit for the presidency, Maska urged the Democratic Party to “go after” his supporters to secure their votes. (RELATED: RFK Jr. Says In Court Filing He Will Endorse Trump)
“Look, he‘s reminding us who he is. I mean, he‘s the troubled son of a famous politician who has had drug problems, problems with women, nefarious business dealings with Venezuela. I mean, there were a lot of questions about his intentions in this campaign from the get-go,” Maska said.
“He is not ready for primetime and certainly not ready for the presidency. I mean, he‘s never held elected office. But he got some momentum because a lot of Americans didn‘t want Trump and they didn‘t want Biden,” Maska continued. And I think we have to be careful as Democrats not to demonize the views of his supporters.”
Maska added that Kennedy’s supporters have been “skeptical of modern medicine,” and urged Democrats to “seek to understand” them instead of dismissing their votes.
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Fmr Obama Advisor Warns Dems Not To ‘Demonize’ RFK Jr. Backers pic.twitter.com/FnhiLGzpkB
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“There are a lot of people who are skeptical of modern medicine right now, we don‘t need to demonize them. We need to seek to understand. We need to go after those followers. I don’t know if there is people in Pennsylvania who are following exactly what he‘s saying, but I think he’s reminded us who he is so now it‘s time for the Democrats to really go after his supporters who have questions about Trump too,” Maska said.
Since Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid on July 21, swing-state polls between Harris and Trump have tightened. A recent New York Times/Siena College poll shows Harris leading in key states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — all crucial for Trump to win in 2024.
Kennedy has since withdrawn from major battleground states, telling supporters in Phoenix, Arizona, that he will now support the former president amid the tight race.
“Three great causes drove me to enter this race in the first place, primarily, and these are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent, and now to throw my support to President Trump,” Kennedy said.
A recent national poll conducted by The Economist/YouGov shows Harris leading by three points, as she has 46% of the vote, Trump at 43% and 3% for Kennedy.
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