heard? Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is responsible for the deaths of 83 Samoansmost of whom are young children? Objectively, he is a terrible person, someone who has attacked (and lost to) the Daily Kos community.
He’s running for president as an independent after being swiftly booted out of the Democratic Party. What’s his status?
not good.
Kennedy was a notorious liar, and the story of his vice presidential nomination is proof of that. March 18, He said He never picks a running mate based on “how much money” she has. A month later, he picked Nicole Shanahan, the philanthropist and ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, because of how much money she has (reportedly more than $1 billion). She’s already Donated $4 million He asked the Kennedy Super PAC to air the infamous Super Bowl ad that he stole from John F. Kennedy’s 1960 ad.
It was estimated that Kennedy would need to spend $15 million to get on the ballot in just 12 states. Lagging far behind in fundraising President Joe Biden ($306 million as of May 21) and President Donald Trump ($244 millionShanahan’s wallet was too tempting to pass up.
Indeed, this withering article The Washington Post effectively highlighted just how uninvolved Shanahan was with the campaign, headlining the story “RFK’s Curious Irrelevance to VP Candidate.” He had no idea what she was doing, where she was going, what media outlets she was in, or anything about her. The campaign made no effort to coordinate her message with Kennedy’s, and apparently did not even guide it.
“The Kennedy campaign failed by selecting an unconventional and unorthodox person as a running mate and then failing to prepare her to effectively use smart messaging under her guidance rather than forming a first impression based on premature assumptions and paranoia,” Jessica Reed Krauss, a California-based influencer who has posted praise for both Kennedy and former President Donald Trump, wrote on Substack.
Krauss added that Shanahan’s “money changes everything,” but wondered “how to sell the financial support as a stimulus to the public.”
The thing is, Shanahan’s money didn’t change everything, and it seems. anything“Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign is on financial life support.” I have written Politico wrote an amusing piece pointing out that without a $10 million cash infusion from Shanahan, his campaign would be in debt, but that’s nowhere near the amount he’d need to be an adequate disruptor.
The campaign began in December with a lottery program that awarded people a whale-watching trip to Hawaii with Kennedy and his wife, Cheryl Hines. It later added offers such as a “Rocky Mountain Adventure” and a “VIP Sailing Experience” at sunset with the couple in California. Tickets cost $10 each and were intended to spur grassroots donations, but the campaign has not generated an increase in small donations.
In February, the auction also began, with new items announced each month to attract big donors. In the latest editions, a “Personal Phone Call with Bobby” and a virtual meet and greet with Shanahan attracted two and one bid, respectively. Several autographed posters of Kennedy drew zero bids. Three of the four “Zipline with Kennedy” prizes went unsold. And an unopened issue of George magazine, published by Kennedy’s late cousin, John F. Kennedy Jr., sold for just $550. The “buy it now” price was $2,500.
Hell, only two people made bids for the phone call with Kennedy. Even I got a better deal than that, and I’m sure you did too. And wouldn’t it be funny if the people who made bids for the Zoom session with Shanahan were campaign staffers trying unsuccessfully to avoid public embarrassment?
Kennedy’s super PAC Surviving thanks to $25 million Republican megadonor Tim Mellon is apparently hoping Kennedy can siphon support from Biden, even though Kennedy’s Republican-focused campaign has not achieved that goal. According to a poll Kennedy Potential further blow to TrumpThe irony is profound. Shanahan has already poured $14 million into Kennedy. How much more is he willing to pour into a hopeless cause, especially when the campaign is clearly not interested in endorsing her? The Washington Post article is brutal.
Kennedy campaign communications director Del Bigtree provided further detail on how the campaign is looking at a running mate in response to a question from a Washington Post reporter about who within the campaign could speak on Shanahan’s behalf.
“I’ve never had a conversation with her about who shares her perspective,” Bigtree said. “The only perspective I’m really focused on is Bobby’s.”
ah.
After all, most donors aren’t interested in putting money into a candidate who has no chance of winning, and Republicans are likely spooked by the latest polls showing Kennedy hurting Trump, so Kennedy’s best bet right now is earned media (which is free), but there’s bad news on that front.
CNN will host the first presidential debate on June 27th (assuming Trump attends). Announced Third-party candidates are unlikely to qualify for the debates: they must appear on the ballot in enough states to reach 270 electoral votes (Kennedy had 89) and receive 15% of the vote in four national polls (Kennedy had three).
Kennedy may be screaming that the CIA is conspiring to suppress him. teeth actually Alleging a conspiracy!) unfortunate.
In reality, our First come, first served It is basically impossible to change the political system. The Trump campaign can no longer fund Kennedy as an obstructionist because it has backfired. The Biden campaign cannot risk Kennedy using his name to garner Democratic votes. So Kennedy can expect no support from either camp. In fact, the opposite is true: both camps relentlessly denounce Kennedy. And his band of merry anti-vaccination fanatics is not enough of a movement to sustain his campaign.
His vote share is expected to decline as voters begin to focus on the two actual candidates in the race.
As for Shanahan: One last bonus headlineThe Wall Street Journal article: “Elon Musk and Sergey Brin’s friendship implodes amid infidelity allegations: The Tesla CEO’s affair with the Google co-founder’s wife led the couple to file for divorce.”
Wow.
Related article: RFK Jr.’s latest uncomfortable opinion: Confederate statues are fine
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