Campaign

Ramaswamy says RFK Jr. ‘could be a good thing’ for Trump

by Lauren Sforza - 03/28/24 2:32 PM ET

Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference. — Greg Nash
Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., on Feb. 24, 2024.

Conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy said Robert F. Kennedy Jr. making a long-shot independent run for the White House “could be a good thing” for former President Trump.

Ramaswamy said Wednesday on Fox News’s “Hannity” that Kennedy’s positions are “not aligned with the Republican Party and better aligned with Democrats,” suggesting his candidacy could take votes away from President Biden if he gets on the ballot in several states.

“It should take votes away from the Democrats. And this should be a good development, not only for President Trump, but I believe it for this country. Because what we need this November is a decisive moral mandate, a landslide of Reagan 1980, 1984 proportions, and I think we have an opportunity to do it,” Ramaswamy told host Sean Hannity.

“And if RFK being in this race helps that, you know what, I think that could be a good thing for this country. And I’m against any Democratic efforts to try to remove him or keep him off the ballot as they will try to do,” he added.

Ramaswamy’s comments echo Trump, who said Kennedy is “great for MAGA” after the independent candidate announced Nicole Shanahan as his running mate on Tuesday. Ramaswamy endorsed Trump for the White House as he ended his campaign for the White House earlier this year.

Democrats have amped up their criticism of Kennedy in recent days, and some pundits say his campaign can pose trouble for Biden.

A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that while Biden narrowly leads Trump in a head-to-head match-up, he slightly trails the former president when a third-party candidate is factored in.

In a three-way race between Biden, Trump and Kennedy, Trump has a 2.2-point lead over Biden, according to the national polling average from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ. Kennedy trails both candidates with 9.2 percent of support.