Jose Diaz-Balart interviewed David Drucker on the topic of RFK Jr.'s impact on the November election.
Here's the video:
Here's the transcript:
DIAZ-BALART: “Yeah, I mean, David, let’s talk about that, because there is concern among Democrats and probably Republicans as well about RFK Jr.’s campaign. How could he change this race?”
DRUCKER: “Well, so far polling shows that RFK Jr., is poised to play the role of spoiler and spoiler helping Trump, not spoiler helping Biden. RFK Jr., of course, is — is not your typical sort of independent challenge from the left, because he holds a lot of appeal to the populace, right, because of his opposition to vaccines and some of his views on — on foreign policy and of course, he’s just a well-known figure and — and well-known figures, famous people tend to play well with populace. But so far, when you look at the data, either nationally, or in the states that are going to decide this election, RFK Jr. Hurts Biden more than Trump and significantly so and that’s why the Democratic National Committee and the Biden campaign are taking this candidacy very seriously and doing everything they can to diminish it. Now, you know, when I say that RFK Jr. Is a spoiler, it’s because he’s not really building the kind of infrastructure or even access to the ballot in all 50 states and Washington D.C., that puts himself in any position to compete to win. I mean, not at all, but all he has to do is be on the ballot in, you know, those half a dozen states that really matter and he could throw the election to Trump. We’ve got a long way to go, things can change, but that’s where we are right now.”
DIAZ-BALART: “Yeah, I mean, David, he has been having a lot of problems and obstacles, he would say, in getting — being able to get on the ballot in different states.”
DRUCKER: “Yeah, well, that’s because it’s unclear what his strategy is. He was relying on a Super PAC, which by the way, was seeded with tens of millions of dollars from a Republican donor, Tim Mellon, that also has given quite a — quite a — quite a lot of money to Donald Trump Super PAC. There were questions of the legality of that because you cannot coordinate between a campaign and a Super PAC. So now the campaign is in charge of getting on the ballot, but it’s time consuming, it’s complicated. The rules and the laws are different in every state. And you know, we don’t know if — if RFK Jr. Is going to have enough time, expertise, or resources to get this done. But again, all it takes is be on the ballot in just a few states. And look, he could choose later to drop out of the race, but if he’s already on the ballot elsewhere, and it gives people somewhere to go that are unhappy with both of their choices, he becomes a vehicle for a protest vote. And again, still down the line for turnout that hurts Trump just as much or more, but for now, that’s just simply not the case.”
Date: April 18, 2024
