{"id":2329326,"date":"2024-08-22T15:47:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T19:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-downplay-possible-rfk-endorsement-of-trump-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-22T15:52:01","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T19:52:01","slug":"democrats-downplay-possible-rfk-endorsement-of-trump-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-downplay-possible-rfk-endorsement-of-trump-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats downplay possible RFK endorsement of Trump- Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrats-downplay-possible-rfk-endorsement-of-trump-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2329326&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Democratic lawmakers and delegates\u2064 are largely unconcerned about the potential endorsement of former President Donald Trump\u200d by Robert F. Kennedy \u200cJr., who\u2063 is currently running an independent\u200b campaign with low\u2064 support. Reports suggest Kennedy is considering endorsing Trump in exchange for a Cabinet position should he win a \u2063second term. However, many Democrats believe that this move will not significantly\u200d impact Vice President Kamala Harris&#8217;s campaign momentum. <\/p>\n<p>Representative Ro Khanna stated that endorsements rarely determine election outcomes, emphasizing the importance of working to\u2064 secure \u2063independent votes. Political experts suggest that Kennedy&#8217;s\u200c supporters are not critical for the Democratic base and might even overlap with\u2062 Trump\u2019s voter \u2064demographic. Some Democrats view Kennedy&#8217;s possible endorsement as an\u2062 opportunity to attract more of his supporters to Trump\u2019s camp, while others express confidence in Harris\u2019s rising popularity. Recent polling indicates that Harris\u200c performs better\u2063 when Kennedy is included in race considerations, suggesting that \u2064independent candidates may siphon support away from Trump rather than Harris. the Democratic party appears to be focused on maintaining enthusiasm and energy heading into the convention and beyond, rather than\u2064 worrying about Kennedy\u2019s potential endorsement.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Democrats mostly unburdened by RFK Jr.&rsquo;s possible Trump endorsement<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1735602\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>CHICAGO &mdash; <\/strong>Democratic lawmakers, delegates, and attendees at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2024-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>2024<\/a> national convention aren&rsquo;t sweating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3116610\/joe-rogan-endorsed-rfk-bad-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a> possibly dropping out of the race and endorsing former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Reports surfaced Wednesday that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3116610\/joe-rogan-endorsed-rfk-bad-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Kennedy<\/a>, whose independent bid for the White House is only garnering single-digit support, is shopping his endorsement to the former president in exchange for a Cabinet-level position in a second Trump administration.<\/p>\n<p>The nephew of Democratic President John F. Kennedy and son of U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, the former Democrat will &ldquo;address the nation&rdquo; from Phoenix, Arizona, at 2 p.m. Eastern &#8288;&mdash; the day after Vice President Kamala Harris accepts the Democratic nomination.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) told the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>Thursday morning that a Trump-RFK endorsement wouldn&rsquo;t kill the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/carson-points-out-that-every-democratic-plan-has-backfired-in-trumps-favor-as-seen-in-the-bible-2\/\" title=\"Carson points out that every Democratic plan has backfired in Trump&#039;s favor, as seen in the Bible\">vice president&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s momentum and that Democrats are already putting in work to win over independent and undecided voters.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think that the convention has a lot of excitement and energy, and this is going to be a very close race, and we still have to make the case to all the voters, every voter,&rdquo; he said in an interview following remarks delivered at the Wisconsin Democratic delegation&rsquo;s breakfast. &ldquo;Endorsements usually don&rsquo;t decide races. We have to work to win those independent voters.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) agreed that Kennedy backing Trump would not affect Harris, joking to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that &ldquo;it just perfects the formation of the Insane Clown Posse party.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Basil Smikle, a political expert and the former executive director of the New York Democratic Party, said he already viewed Kennedy voters as Trump voters &ldquo;more or less.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think it adds maybe a handful of voters to the Trump campaign, but I don&rsquo;t think it makes a significant impact,&rdquo; noting that Kennedy might actually hurt Trump as a surrogate because he &ldquo;comes with his own controversies.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The one thing Donald Trump doesn&rsquo;t want is to take attention away from himself by having to answer for somebody who&rsquo;s endorsed him,&rdquo; he told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;It&rsquo;ll be an interesting story, a curiosity, but I don&rsquo;t think it makes any significant difference in this wave of sort of enthusiasm and excitement. I think Kamala Harris gets a bump from her convention in a way that Donald Trump didn&rsquo;t from his.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Gemma Lowery, a Democratic delegate from Delaware, celebrated Kennedy possibly backing Trump because his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-joins-the-election-with-the-largest-gop-tent-ever\/\" title=\"Trump joins the election with the largest GOP tent ever\">supporters don&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t fit the &ldquo;mentality model&rdquo; of the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Take your voters. Go to the other side. I&rsquo;m fine with him getting more numbers of people that believe that,&rdquo; she said in a fiery interview. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m fine with that. I don&rsquo;t believe in the power of what his position was anyway, and I think crazy begets crazy, and you can&rsquo;t fix that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sam Crunkilton, a Democratic delegate from Nevada, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> she doesn&rsquo;t think &ldquo;anything, including Kennedy endorsing Trump, can stop&rdquo; Harris&rsquo;s surge.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think there&rsquo;s just so much joy and excitement and enthusiasm at the moment. It&rsquo;s just a very genuine feeling,&rdquo; she stated. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if there&rsquo;s really anything right now that can really stop the excitement that I&rsquo;m seeing from delegates here and even, you know, people back home in the community.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Not everyone at the DNC, however, was happy to shoot down the idea that Kennedy&rsquo;s withdrawal could hurt Harris.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) didn&rsquo;t stop to answer when the topic was broached by the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>And former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh, a never-Trump Republican-turned-Harris supporter, claimed a Kennedy endorsement would &ldquo;help&rdquo; the former president.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s overlap between him and Trump because he&rsquo;s a bad guy and a f***ing nutcase as well,&rdquo; Walsh, who challenged Trump in the 2020 Republican primary, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;So this is going to make it more difficult for Kamala Harris, and we&rsquo;ve got to make the case to try to reach those people, but that&rsquo;s not going to be easy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Polling since Harris entered the race suggested that she fared significantly better in a race including Kennedy than in a head-to-head matchup with Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to President&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Joe Biden<\/a>&lsquo;s 2024 withdrawal in July, polling consistently found Kennedy pulling more support from Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents than from Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>But after Democrats swapped out Biden for Harris, the<em> Washington Post <\/em>conducted an analysis of polls from <em>Reuters<\/em>-Ipsos, the&nbsp;<em>New York Times<\/em>-Siena College, the&nbsp;<em>Wall Street Journal<\/em>, Marquette University, CBS-YouGov, and NPR-PBS-Marist College from the first week of August and found that Harris&rsquo;s average lead over Trump expanded from 1.5 points in a head-to-head matchup to 3.3 points when Kennedy is included.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Since the Democratic ticket turned over from Biden to Harris last month, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-rogan-supports-rfk-jr-hurting-trump-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Joe Rogan supports RFK Jr., hurting Trump - Washington Examiner\">half-dozen quality polls<\/a> have tested both a Trump-Harris matchup and a crowded race that included independent and third-party candidates. In all of them, Harris performed better in the crowded race,&rdquo; the analysis reads. &ldquo;Just about all of those numbers are within the margin of error, and the shifts are small. But given this is now a half-dozen polls and that these shifts are among the voters in the same poll, it&rsquo;s safe to say third-party candidates are now hurting Trump more.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Jen O&rsquo;Malley Dillon, Harris&rsquo;s campaign manager, said Wednesday that Kennedy endorsing Trump isn&rsquo;t &ldquo;going to really interfere with the race too much.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We are very confident that the vice president&rsquo;s going to win, whether she&rsquo;s running against one candidate or multiple candidates. And at the same time, I think, when you look at RFK and what&rsquo;s happened over the last several months, the more the American people hear from him, the more we see that they don&rsquo;t like him that much, and they think that what he&rsquo;s saying is more extreme,&rdquo; she said in an interview with <em>Politico<\/em>. &ldquo;You saw his numbers peak several months ago. They&rsquo;ve continued to drop. I think that&rsquo;s similar to what we&rsquo;re seeing with Donald Trump, and I think a lot of the base of the support that exists across the board is going to stay.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Trump campaign, asked for comment, pointed to remarks the former president made on Fox Business on Wednesday and Fox News Thursday morning.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I would always be honored,&rdquo; Trump said when asked about a possible endorsement from Kennedy. &ldquo;I respect him.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1735602\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1735602\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrats largely unconcerned by RFK Jr.&#8217;s potential Trump endorsement<\/p>\n<p>CHICAGO \u2014 Democratic officials, delegates, and participants at the 2024 national convention are not worried about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. potentially exiting the race to endorse former President Donald Trump. Reports emerged on Wednesday indicating that Kennedy, whose independent presidential campaign is attracting only single-digit support, is considering endorsing Trump in exchange for a Cabinet position in a future Trump administration. As the nephew of former Democratic President John F. Kennedy and son of U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, the ex-Democrat plans to &#8220;address the nation&#8221; from Phoenix, Arizona at 2 p.m. Eastern time\u2014just one day after Vice President Kamala Harris accepts the Democratic nomination.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) told the Washington Examiner on Thursday morning that a potential endorsement from Trump would not hinder Harris&#8217;s momentum and emphasized that Democrats are actively working to appeal to independent and undecided voters. &#8220;I think there\u2019s a lot of excitement and energy at the convention; this will be a very close race,&#8221; he stated after speaking at an event for Wisconsin&#8217;s Democratic delegation breakfast. &#8220;Endorsements typically don\u2019t determine races; we need to focus on winning over those independent voters.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) concurred that Kennedy endorsing Trump would have little effect on Harris&#8217;s campaign, humorously suggesting it would simply contribute to what he called an \u201cInsane Clown Posse party.\u201d Political analyst Basil Smikle noted that he views Kennedy\u2019s supporters as largely aligned with Trump&#8217;s base already: \u201cIt might add a few votes for Trump but won\u2019t make much difference,\u201d he said, adding that Kennedy could even detract from Trump&#8217;s appeal due to his own controversies.<\/p>\n<p>Gemma Lowery, a Delaware delegate, expressed approval of any potential shift in support towards Trump since she believes those voters do not align with Democratic values: \u201cLet them go; I\u2019m fine with him gaining more followers who think like him,\u201d she remarked passionately.<\/p>\n<p>Sam Crunkilton, another delegate from Nevada, asserted her belief that nothing\u2014including an endorsement from Kennedy\u2014could dampen Harris\u2019s current surge: \u201cThere\u2019s so much joy and enthusiasm right now; it feels genuine,\u201d she commented.<\/p>\n<p>However, some attendees were less dismissive about possible negative impacts of such an endorsement on Harris&#8217;s campaign efforts. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) did not respond when asked about it by the Washington Examiner while former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh\u2014a Republican who has shifted his support toward Harris\u2014argued that a Kennedy endorsement could benefit Trump due to their shared controversial reputations.<\/p>\n<p>Polling data since Harris entered the race indicates she performs better when competing against multiple candidates including Kennedy than in direct matchups against Trump alone\u2014showing her average lead increase when third-party candidates are included.<\/p>\n<p>Harris&#8217;s campaign manager Jen O&#8217;Malley Dillon stated Wednesday that they believe any potential endorsement from Kennedy will have minimal impact on their strategy moving forward: &#8220;We\u2019re confident Vice President Harris will win whether facing one or multiple opponents,&#8221; she said during an interview with Politico.<\/p>\n<p>In response to inquiries regarding this situation, Trump&#8217;s camp highlighted comments made by him expressing respect for RFK Jr., stating he would be honored by any possible endorsement<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2329327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/rfk-trump-harris.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[3685,13348,23694,3634],"class_list":["post-2329326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-democrats","tag-endorsement","tag-rfk","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/rfk-trump-harris.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2329326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2329327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2329326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2329326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2329326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}