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PODCAST

Why Trump and His Advisers Suddenly Seem So Alarmed About RFK Jr.

In a surprise, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is all over right-wing media, and Trump advisers are now warning that Kennedy will cut into the MAGA vote. But is it all a bait and switch?

Alex Wong/Getty Images
Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Des Moines, Iowa, on August 12, 2023

Unexpectedly, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been making a huge number of appearances all over right-wing media of late. Trump advisers are loudly warning that this threatens to take voters from him, helping President Biden. But we’re skeptical: It’s still more likely that in the end RFK hurts Biden more than Trump. And there are cynical reasons why right-wing media sources might be boosting RFK Jr. right now. We chatted with Matt Bennett, a co-founder of the Democratic group Third Way and a shrewd observer of U.S. party politics, about the true RFK effect, how RFK is functioning as a stalking horse for Trump, and what MAGA media might be doing to help along the scam.