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A campaign official for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s New York campaign said the quiet part out loud, hinting at the possibility of the independent candidate aiding former President Donald Trump in a potential victory over President Joe Biden in November's elections.
Rita Palma, identified as Kennedy's New York state director, made these remarks during an event with Republican voters on Friday, as seen in a now-removed video posted on the Uncle Mertie YouTube account.
Palma's assertion centered on the belief that Kennedy's presence on the ballot in New York could potentially sway the outcome of the election in Trump's favor. She argued that Kennedy's candidacy might siphon votes away from Biden, thereby reducing his chances of winning the state.
She said:
"The Kennedy voter and the Trump voter, our mutual enemy is Biden ... Bobby right now is pulling from both sides. Right now he's actually pulling a bit more from Biden, which explains why the DNC is kind of ganging up on him. They have a special committee to go after independent candidates."
Palma said that "Bobby is the only third-party candidate that anyone is taking seriously," suggesting there is a concerted effort "to get him off of the ballot" and that Democratic operatives seem to be focused on "battleground states rather than blue states." She further claimed that Kennedy is a good spoiler candidate in reliably blue Northeastern states because ensuring Biden doesn't receive a second term is a top priority.
She added:
"Give those 28 (New York) electoral votes to Bobby rather than to Biden, thereby reducing Biden's 270. And we all know how that works, right — 270 wins the election. If you don't get to 270, if nobody gets to see 270, then Congress picks the president, right?" ...
So are they going to pick if it's a Republican? They're going to pick Trump so we're rid of Biden either way. Does everybody follow that?"
Democratic activist Jon Cooper shared the footage of Palma's remarks to X, formerly Twitter, and noted that a friend of his, a former "die-hard" antivaxxer Kennedy fan, stopped supporting him after seeing the video.
You can see it below.
The Kennedy campaign distanced itself from Palma's comments, stating that she was speaking as a private citizen and not as a representative of the campaign's electoral strategy even though she has a "Team Kennedy" email address:
"Palma was speaking as a private citizen and her statements in no way reflect the strategy of the Kennedy campaign, which is to win the White House with votes from former Trump and Biden supporters alike."
Moreover, Palma's background as a ballot access consultant and her previous involvement with Trump's campaign in Pennsylvania during the 2016 and 2020 elections further fueled speculation about potential alliances between Kennedy and Trump supporters.
Kennedy and his campaign were swiftly criticized.
Kennedy, a proud anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist, has previously said he is "proud" that Trump "likes me."
Responding to concerns last year that his candidacy could potentially harm Biden and benefit Trump, he insisted that his candidacy aims to "bring people together" and "try to bridge to divide between Americans." He added that he appreciates being in Trump's good graces even if he doesn't necessarily agree with Trump on every issue.
Palma's remarks also shed light on internal divisions within the Kennedy campaign, coming on the heels of a controversy surrounding earlier statements made by Kennedy regarding the January 6 insurrection, the day a mob of Trump's supporters attacked the United States Capitol on the false premise the 2020 election was stolen.
Earlier, he minimized Trump's actions in contesting the 2020 election results, saying “the greatest threat to democracy is not someone who questions election returns." However, he contradicted himself when he said in the same interview that Trump's actions were “appalling" and themselves "a threat to democracy.”
Kennedy's campaign also came under fire for sending an email blast characterizing the January 6 defendants as "activists sitting in a Washington DC jail cell stripped of their Constitutional liberties."