CHICAGO — Former Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, on Wednesday dismissed a potential threat from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to drop out of the race and endorse former President Trump.
Asked about concerns that such a move could affect the presidential election in battleground states, Ryan said: “I don’t think it will have a significant impact.”
“So if you support Robert Kennedy, you want change. And if you want change, I’m not sure you’d support Donald Trump,” he added to party members gathered at the United Center on the third night of the Democratic National Convention.
Speculation has been rife about what Kennedy might do next, with reports suggesting he might drop out of the race and endorse Trump, a possibility Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, hinted at in a recent podcast interview.
The Hill previously reported that Kennedy allies were holding a conference call on Wednesday to discuss the campaign’s next steps.
Kennedy had an unsuccessful presidential campaign: A national poll compiled by Decision Desk showed Harris with 48% approval rating, Trump with 44% and Kennedy with 3%.
Experts and the Harris-Waltz campaign have suggested Kennedy’s withdrawal would not wreak havoc on the race.
“First of all, we’re very confident that whether the vice president runs against one candidate or multiple candidates, she’s going to win,” Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillion told Politico’s Eugene Daniels on the CNN-Politico Grill on Wednesday.
“At the same time, if you look at RFK and what’s happened in the last few months, I think the more the American people listen to him, the more they realize they don’t like him that much.”
