As reports surfaced that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may be dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, the implications for the GOP and Democrat tickets were up for discussion on Fox News.
Host Jesse Watters discussed the impact of Kennedy’s withdrawal with fellow “The Five” host Dana Perino and Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen. However, the host of “Jesse Watters Primetime” was not too keen on Thiessen’s take that the move could actually hurt former President Donald Trump more than Vice President Kamala Harris.
When asked by ABC News, Kennedy would not give a direct answer if he would be ending his independent bid for the White House and endorsing Trump, saying, “I will not confirm or deny that.”
Sources told the network that Kennedy’s plans could change and his press secretary posted that RFK Jr. “will address the nation live on Friday about the present historical moment and his path forward.”
“In a race this tight, do you think the Democrats are worried?” Watters asked Perino Wednesday after noting the reports about Kennedy and whether he would be endorsing Trump, “possibly in exchange for a Cabinet position.”
“Well, I think that RFK was at about nine points before Biden dropped out, so anywhere where he was on the ballot, or if you do like a national poll, he was up nine points,” Perino answered. “It’s not insignificant, but once Biden dropped out, he went to four points.”
“Why that matters and why Trump would want this endorsement is because, if he’s at four percent, and he helps Trump just a little bit. If these states are as close as we think they are going to be, that little bit could make the difference,” she continued, adding, “I wouldn’t promise him a cabinet position. I would not.”
Thiessen saw Kennedy’s withdrawal from the race as a possible “opportunity” for Democrats.
“It represents, actually, an opportunity for the Democrats right now because RFK, the threat that he posed to the Democrats was that Democrats and independents who are unhappy with Harris and Biden had a place to go that was not Trump, right?” the Washington Post columnist noted.
“So if you don’t like this administration, but you can’t bring yourself to vote Donald Trump, there was an option on the ballot today, and if he gets out of the race, how many of those people are actually gonna go and vote for Trump if the reason they were supporting him was ’cause they didn’t want to vote for Trump and didn’t want to vote for these guys?” he wondered.
“So I think in a way, him getting out of the race hurts Trump rather than helps,” Thiessen concluded.
“That’s a smart answer, but I don’t like it, Thiessen,” Watters responded with a laugh.
