The dire potential consequences of the right's RFK courtship
Published
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s impending move to crash out of the presidential race and endorse Donald Trump is fitting given that his bid was a cynical and transparent right-wing media operation intended to help return the former president to the White House.
Kennedy, a notorious anti-vaccine activist and conspiracy theorist, plans to end his independent presidential campaign and throw his support to Trump, perhaps at a planned event on Friday, NBC News first reported. The apparent move followed reports that Kennedy was seeking a major administration job from Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris in exchange for his endorsement.
Right-wing media stars who want Trump to win the presidency were among the most fervent supporters of Kennedy’s bid. They encouraged him to run for the Democratic nomination, touted his campaign after it launched, then urged him to run as an independent when they thought he would take votes away from that party’s standard-bearer. But they turned on him as it became increasingly clear that his run was actually hurting Trump.
History’s most obvious political rat-fucking attempt is now coming to an end, but its impact on the 2024 race reflects the broader ongoing right-wing turn against vaccinations since the COVID-19 pandemic. And it could still have even more disastrous consequences if Trump’s right-wing media supporters get their way and Kennedy snags a position running a federal health care agency in a second Trump administration.