close
close

Did Trump hurt his chances of winning the election by courting RFK Jr.? Assistant weighs himself

Did Trump hurt his chances of winning the election by courting RFK Jr.? Assistant weighs himself

Former President Donald TrumpTrump campaign made ‘strategic mistake’ in recruiting former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. according to a former assistant to the vice president Mike Pence.

In August Kennedy dropped out of the presidential race and backed Trump after reports the pair were in talks. A former environmental lawyer said at the time, he saw no real path to obtaining the keys to the White House.

Appearance on MSNBC On Tuesday, as millions of Americans voted, Pence’s former chief of staff Marc Short was asked whether a victory for Vice President Kamala “would be her victory or would Trump just lose again.”

“I think there is a lot of polarization around Trump,” Short responded.

Trump and Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump shake hands during a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena on August 23, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. Former Mike Pence aide Marc Short suggested Trump had damaged…


Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

He said Trump has “a vibrant, loyal support base that gives him a very high level of support, but he also has a low ceiling.”

“I think it benefited him to have multiple candidates in this race,” Short added.

“I think discouraging Robert Kennedy from entering the race was a strategic mistake because if it’s binary, I think there are more people now against his candidacy.”

Short continued: “I think it’s a challenge. republicans are missing this opportunity to have this real election be about the issues, because when it comes to the issues, I think the Republicans are going to dominate this cycle.”

Although Kennedy has formally dropped out of the race, he remains on the ballot in the key swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin, despite efforts to remove his name after Supreme Court rulings.

At a news conference, he earlier said polls showed staying on the ballot in battleground states could hand the election to Democratic PartyBusiness Insider reports this.

Kennedy, however, was able say his name from other battleground states such as Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia and Nevada.

The hosts also asked Short which candidate has the edge as the race for the White House wraps up.

“I think (Harris) has momentum at the moment,” the former Pence aide responded.

“The reality is that given the issues that Americans are concerned about… the border crisis and the economy, inflation, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, it really should be significant republican year, but I don’t think that’s Donald Trump’s final message,” Short said.

“Instead, we talked about all sorts of things like fluoride in water, refusal of vaccines, condemnation Liz Cheney. So, I think a lot of Republicans… I’m sure they would like this to be a more targeted message from the Trump campaign.”

Newsweek The Trump and Harris campaigns, as well as Kennedy’s representatives, have been contacted by email for comment.

Follow the latest news on Newsweek’s live blog. election news.

Do you have a story we should cover? Do you have questions about the 2024 presidential election? Contact [email protected]