RFK’s a Spoiler – But for Which Party?

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 11 April 2024

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Polls this month suggest that between 9 and 12 percent of Americans support independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But it’s unclear whether in a general election he and his California-based running mate Nicole Shanahan would draw more votes away from President Biden or Donald Trump. Kennedy, who’s gained political visibility as an anti-vaccine activist and anti-institutionalist, is petitioning to appear on the November ballot in all 50 states; at this point only Utah has confirmed his place. We talk about the impact of RFK’s candidacy and who’s likely to vote for him. Guests: Mike Madrid, Republican strategist; co-founder, The Lincoln Project. His forthcoming book is "The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority is Transforming Democracy."
Michelle Goldberg, op-ed columnist, New York Times. Her books include “Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism" and "The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power and the Future of the World." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:03.7	Coming up on forum, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,
1:06.9	and his potential to affect the presidential election.
1:09.9	Kennedy, it seems obvious, is going to play
1:11.9	a spoiler role in this election, writes New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg, but it was very
1:16.6	unclear to me who he was going to be a spoiler for, she writes. Kennedy has just named Silicon Valley
1:22.5	entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan as his running mate and has been polling lately at about 10% of American support.
1:29.4	We'll look at who's likely to vote for Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer who gained
1:33.2	political visibility as an anti-vaccine activist, and why he's drawn the attention of both
1:38.8	the Biden and Trump campaigns. Join us.
	...

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