Hannah Maldavin, a senior spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), said Sunday that Robert F. Kennedy’s endorsement of former President Donald Trump’s presidential bid “changes nothing” about the 2024 presidential election.
Mardavin said Kennedy’s announcement on Friday “doesn’t surprise me for a second,” noting that Trump allies and conservatives who endorsed Kennedy are sending a similar message to President Biden and Vice President Harris.
“I’m telling you, Chris, this has no impact on the actual election,” Maldavin said in an interview with Chris Styrewalt on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday.” “RFK Jr.’s money was flowing out. His support was flowing out.”
Mardavin said Kennedy’s candidacy would be an obstacle for Trump and that the Harris campaign had “always been prepared” for a direct confrontation with Trump.
“We know independent voters want to support Kamala Harris over Donald Trump, so nothing is changing in this race,” Muldavin said. “This confirms what we’ve known all along: RFK Jr. is an obstacle to Donald Trump, and we as Democrats are ready to win this and speak to voters.”
The interview came after Kennedy announced he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Trump. Kennedy, who had been running as an independent at the end of his campaign, began by challenging President Biden for the Democratic nomination.
In a hypothetical head-to-head race, Harris leads Trump by 3.6 points (49.5 percent to 45.9 percent), according to an average of national polls from The Hill and Decision Desk.
An average of national polls shows Harris’ lead has widened slightly in a hypothetical three-way race, with 49 percent support for Harris, 43.9 percent for Trump and 2.7 percent for Kennedy.
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