Declared 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. suggested during an interview Monday that President Biden wouldn’t be competing in either of the Iowa or New Hampshire primaries, instead choosing to run in a safer presidential primary state like South Carolina.
“My path through the Democratic primary system, I have to win the primaries,” the Democratic contender told Michael Smerconish on SiriusXM when Smerconish asked him about his path toward notching the Democratic nomination.
“I think that President Biden is not going to even put his name in Iowa and New Hampshire. So I think he’s not even going to compete,” Kennedy added.
The anti-vaccine activist said he believed Biden would wait until the South Carolina primaries to compete in a “safer” state than Iowa or New Hampshire.
“I think that he has never done well in New Hampshire, and I think he came in fifth in New Hampshire the last time. That’s my memory,” Kennedy told Smerconish. “So I think that he did not want to compete in New Hampshire and he wants to go to a state where they … can control the results more.”
Kennedy’s referring to the fact that Biden placed fourth in the Iowa caucuses in 2020 and fifth in New Hampshire. Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) endorsed Biden ahead of the South Carolina primaries and his endorsement is widely credited for helping the president win the state and turn around Biden’s campaign.
While Kennedy is seeking the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2024, his candidacy is considered a longshot bid against Biden.
But moves by the DNC and Biden to shake up the early presidential primary calendar and place South Carolina on the Democrats’ early voting calendar ahead of New Hampshire and Iowa has rattled some Democrats, raising questions about how it might impact Biden’s standing in both states’ primaries.
The Hill has reached out to Biden’s campaign for comment.