BROOKLYN (CN) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. challenged President Joe Biden Wednesday to enter into a “spoiler pledge,” in which one party or the other will agree to back out of November’s presidential election if it becomes clear the other has a better chance of beating Trump.
As part of the pledge, he asked the Democratic party to co-fund a 50-state poll in October that will ask voters if they would rather vote for Biden or Kennedy in a head-to-head with Trump.
“Both parties pledge that whoever performs weakest against President Trump in a two-man contest will drop out of the presidential race,” Kennedy said at a news conference at the Hana House in Brooklyn on Tuesday. “This is a spoiler pledge.”
But he added that he would also like to make this pledge with Trump too.
“Because I can do better against President Biden than President Trump,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy also spent much of the news conference contesting rumors that he is a “spoiler,” meaning a political candidate who cannot win but prevents another candidate from winning by taking away votes.
“People who are voting for President Trump because they are frightened by President Biden should be supporting me and vice versa,” Kennedy said.
Both the Biden and Trump campaigns have expressed concern over how Kennedy has been faring in the polls. Most recent polling shows Kennedy is drawing support away from both parties.
In a April 24 Quinnipac poll, 16% of voters say they would vote for Kennedy if the election was held today while Biden and Trump are deadlocked at 37%.
In another poll, released on April 18 by Florida Atlantic University and Mainstreet Research, Kennedy appears to be drawing voters aged 18 to 34 and 35 to 49 away from Trump. When Kennedy is not factored into the poll, Biden narrowly leads Trump by one percent but that lead jumps to five percent when Kennedy is added to the test ballot.
About a week after that poll was released, Trump went on a social media tirade and called Kennedy a “wasted protest vote” and a Democratic “plant.”
But Kennedy pushed back against his reputed "spoiler" status, claiming that Biden and Trump are sabotaging their own campaigns.
“If either President Trump or President Biden won, the division is going to continue, the anger, the vitriol, the chaos, the polarization is going to worsen,” Kennedy said. “The only way to end that is through my successful candidacy.”
When Kennedy was asked at the news conference by a reporter if he has been contacted by Trump about participating in a debate, he added that he’s open to the idea.
“I’m available for debates anytime, anywhere,” Kennedy said.
Rina Kofman was one of the Kennedy supporters in attendance. When asked which policies of his she supports, Kofman simply said she likes everything about him.
“Everything, everything he’s ever said. I’ve listened to hours of him speaking and I resonate with pretty much everything he says,” Kofman, a New York resident originally from the former Soviet Union, said.
Departing from the Kennedy political dynasty, the presidential hopeful is running as an independent candidate as what he says is an alternative to those disillusioned by the Democratic Party. He has established his own third-party and secured a place on the California ballot under the American Independent Party.
Kennedy earned his reputation as an activist and attorney who fought for environmental issues such as clean water, but some environmental advocacy groups wrote an open letter in April urging voters to reject Kennedy based on his controversial climate views and warned his candidacy could help Trump win reelection.
Members of Kennedy’s family also endorsed Biden for reelection in April, after the candidate used imagery from John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential run in a TV advertisement for his campaign during the 2024 Super Bowl. At an April 21 campaign event in Detroit, Kennedy said he did not hold any ill will toward his family members that don’t support his campaign.
Kennedy has garnered controversial attention in the 2024 presidential election in part due to his stance against vaccines distributed as a public health response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Follow @NikaSchoonover
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
