It’s obvious that the sole purpose of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign is to play spoiler to President Biden and help Donald Trump win in November. He will do anything to degenerate the electoral process—from flouting campaign finance laws to hijacking fringe political parties to selling his vice presidency to the highest bidder. His campaign poses a serious risk to the future of democracy.
“There’s no doubt that RFK Jr.’s campaign is nothing more than a ploy to help Donald Trump get reelected and he’s abusing our broken campaign finance system to do so,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “If you cut through the nonsense he and his campaign are spewing to instead follow the money, his motives to play spoiler are abundantly clear. RFK Jr. cannot be trusted and a vote for him is a vote for Trump.”
Details of RFK Jr.’s Sham Campaign:
- Multiple FEC Complaints
- The DNC has filed three separate complaints with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against RFK Jr. and his super PAC.
- The first complaint accused him of a “ballot access scheme,” which constitutes illegal coordination with the super PAC and argues that Kennedy’s campaign will have to violate federal laws to meet state requirements. The second and third complaints claim his super PAC failed to properly disclose loans and loan repayments to one of his top donors and private security executive.
- RFK Jr.’s repeated dismissal of campaign finance law proves that he cannot play by the rules and that he thinks himself above the law.
- Sold Vice President Slot to a Top Donor:
- After Nicole Shanahan helped fund pro-RFK, Jr. super PAC’s seven-figure Super Bowl ad, he announced her as his vice presidential pick. This follows him claiming that he “would never choose a VP candidate based on how much money they have.” But that’s exactly what he did.
- Since announcing Shanahan as his running mate, she’s continued to act as the campaign’s personal bank, contributing a total of $10 million to the campaign, in addition to the $4.5 million that Shanahan previously donated to two different pro-RFK Jr. super PACs earlier in the campaign.
- Shares Top Funder with Trump:
- It isn’t a coincidence that Trump and Kennedy both share the top donor to their campaigns. Tim Mellon, the largest GOP donor this cycle, contributed $5 million to RFK Jr.’s super PAC in May, bringing his total contributions to $25 million. In the last two years, Mellon gave an equal $25 million into Trump’s super PAC, among donations to other GOP entities.
- If Kennedy truly posed a threat to Trump’s candidacy, his biggest donor wouldn’t drop millions into his super PAC—but because RFK Jr. is set to siphon votes from President Biden, Mellon and other MAGA donors are willing to spend extra money to further RFK Jr.’s campaign.
- Hijacked Political Parties:
- Recent reports detailed RFK Jr. extorting and manipulating the fringe Natural Law Party to hijack the party to achieve his third-party fantasies. His attempt to commandeer the party underscores his willingness to break every rule and exploit every shady loophole in his quest to play spoiler.
- The Natural Law Party isn’t the only fringe, third-party group that RFK Jr. is involved with. According to The Bulwark, he has “tapped a constellation” of extremist third-party groups in various states to help him get on the ballot, including the American Independent Party, formed to help segregationist George Wallace.
- These groups all share different fringe values and beliefs, but it doesn’t matter to Kennedy, who just wants to use them for his own—and Trump’s—benefit.
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