Trump escalates criticism of RFK Jr.: ‘Not exactly anti-vaccine

Former President Donald Trump ramped up his attacks on independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., going after his stances on guns and energy while also saying his skepticism of vaccines is “fake.”

“You think he’s an anti-vaxxer, he’s not really an anti-vaxxer. That’s only his political moment. He said the other night he’s okay with a vaccine,” Trump said in a May 9 Truth Social post. “RFK’s views on vaccines are fake, as is everything else about his candidacy. He is not a Republican, so don’t think you’re going to vote for him and feel good. He is a rabid-left Democrat. Let the Democrats have RFK Jr. They deserve him.”

The former president‘s comments come as political observers have noticed a change in Trump’s language around the the coronavirus vaccine, which some believe is a sign the campaign views Kennedy as being able to bleed off some more vaccine-skeptical voters.

Republican strategist Jason Roe, former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party, told Politico Trump is “insulating against it being a problem,” adding, “Trump is in a pretty commanding position in most of the polls in swing states, so why take the chance of RFK Jr. screwing it up for you.”

Kennedy has consistently been skeptical of vaccines for years, not just the coronavirus vaccine, which was approved under expedited conditions during the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed. The independent candidate has supported claims that certain vaccines are linked to autism and has also said that the coronavirus was created to attack certain races or ethnic groups.

Kennedy campaign communications director Del Bigtree told Politico that they see Trump’s attacks on the independent candidate as “trying to get back an audience that’s leaving him, that’s inspired by Robert Kennedy.”

Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, has in the past touted Operation Warp Speed as “one of the greatest miracles” of his time in office, but his administration’s response to the pandemic was used by some of his Republican primary challengers as one of few openings to go on the attack.

As a presidential candidate, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) attacked Trump from the right on the coronavirus response and pushing the vaccine, as well as not taking a harder line against states that maintained their shutdowns and giving Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, too much power.

But the Trump campaign notes that the former president has been consistent since leaving office about his opposition to vaccine mandates and state lockdowns.

“He has advocated for ending all unconstitutional Covid mandates and draconian lockdowns, and he fought vigorously against them,” Brian Hughes, Trump campaign senior advisor, told Politico. “After the initial ‘Slow the Spread’ period, President Trump was the most significant force for opening the country up, in spite of enormous media and Democrat resistance.”

Despite the Republican voter base being critical of the pandemic response from political leadership across the board, the attacks against Trump have not done much to cut into his popularity with the base. Dampening the attacks against Trump is the fact that Joe Biden’s presidency, which has had the vaccine from Day One, had a coronavirus death toll just as high as the Trump presidency.

In response to Biden’s State of the Union address in March, where he highlighted the vaccines as part of a national “comeback,” Trump posted to Truth Social, “YOU’RE WELCOME, JOE, NINE MONTH APPROVAL TIME VS. 12 YEARS THAT IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN YOU.”

Some conservative commentators noted that Trump should not be so quick to tout the vaccine, particularly with Kennedy in the race.

“Donald Trump taking credit for the vaccine — if RFK wasn’t in the race, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal,” Charlie Kirk, a prominent Trump supporter, said on his show in March. “But you have to understand that there are millions of voters that look at the vaccine issue as a highly personal issue. … With RFK on the ballot, you cannot dismiss this coalition.”

Vaccine skepticism appears to be a winning stance among some Republican voters, and it is possible the Trump team is looking at polling like the recent Monmouth University survey showing a slight increase in Republican interest in Kennedy when being informed of his stance on vaccines, and responding by covering bases.

“Support for Kennedy is not particularly strong even among voters who dislike both Biden and
Trump. If he can’t score a decisive win with these voters, it’s unclear what role he can play in this
election other than as a spoiler,” Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said of the survey. “The poll results suggest that the Kennedy effect is minimal. If the current situation holds, he would play a spoiler role only in a very close contest. Of course, everything is lining up for this election to be just that.”

Murray also noted that while the “slight movement” is “not hugely perceptible … you can understand why it would be of concern to the Trump campaign” because “it only takes a few voters in key states to flip the Electoral College.”

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Trump’s offensive against Kennedy did not stop at the vaccine, as he said the independent candidate is a “Democrat ‘Plant,’ a Radical Left Liberal who’s been put in place in order to help Crooked Joe Biden … get Re-Elected.”

“Jr. is totally anti-gun, extreme environmentalist who makes the green new scammers look very conservative by comparison, a big time taxer — he wants to tax you — an open border advocate — he wants those borders to be wide open for more people to come in from prisons and mental institutions — and he’s anti-military and he’s anti-vet,” Trump said in the Truth Social post. “He’s an extreme liberal, he’s radical left, and radicalized also are his family.”