Evening Report — Kennedy backs Trump in 2024 shakeup

by Jonathan Easley - 08/23/24 5:04 PM ET

Evening Report

Kennedy adds volatility to razor-tight 2024 race

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his campaign on Friday and endorsed former President Trump, the latest disruption in a volatile election season.

The former Democratic candidate-turned independent said he’d remain on the ballot in firmly red and blue states, but that he’d withdraw his name in the battlegrounds that will determine the outcome of the election.

Kennedy, the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, said if he stayed in the race he’d play spoiler for Trump and pave the way for Vice President Harris to win the White House.

“I’ve made the heart-wrenching decision to suspend my campaign and support President Trump. This decision is agonizing for me because of the difficulties it causes my wife and my children and my friends, but I have the certainty this is what I’m meant to do.”

Kennedy’s withdrawal shakes up the presidential race only hours after Harris closed shop on her triumphant nominating convention in Chicago, riding momentum and rising support in polls into the final 10-week stretch.

Kennedy is only averaging 2.7 percent support in The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average of national polls.
However, public polls have found Kennedy drawing support away from Trump in some states.
Kennedy’s withdrawal in the battlegrounds and his endorsement potentially set the stage for Trump to make some small gains around the margins, which could prove decisive in an election that appears headed for the wire.

Kennedy presser rundown:

Kennedy said he’s met twice with Trump about a role in his potential administration. Kennedy appears to have an agreement with Trump that he can be put in charge of an agency related to either health care or food production, saying that Americans are suffering from “chronic disease” due to how food is processed and that he can fix it.
Kennedy said he’s a lifelong Democrat, but he’s closer to Trump on the three “existential” issues that matter most to him — free speech, ending foreign wars, and ending chronic disease. “Our arrangement would allow us to disagree publicly and privately…while working together on the existential issues on which we’re in accordance.”
Kennedy is brimming with anger at Democrats, saying the Democratic National Committee repeatedly sued his campaign to keep his independent bid off the ballot. “I began this journey as a Democrat, the party of my father, my uncle, the party I pledged my own allegiance to long before I was old enough to vote…I left the party…because it had become the party of war, censorship, corruption, Big Pharma, Big Tech, Big Ag and big money.”
He said he tried to open up lines of communication with Harris and her team, but they refused to talk to him. Kennedy initially planned to challenge President Biden in the Democratic primary, but the DNC did not want Biden to be challenged. “When it abandoned democracy by canceling the primary to conceal the cognitive decline of a sitting president, I left the party to run as an independent.”

Harris’s campaign made an overture to Kennedy’s supporters:

“For any American out there who is tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward, ours is a campaign for you. In order to deliver for working people and those who feel left behind, we need a leader who will fight for you, not just for themselves, and bring us together, not tear us apart. Vice President Harris wants to earn your support. Even if we do not agree on every issue, Kamala Harris knows there is more that unites us than divides us: respect for our rights, public safety, protecting our freedoms, and opportunity for all.” (Read here)

Kennedy’s family members — Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Courtney Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Chris Kennedy and Rory Kennedy — torched his decision in a statement posted on X.

“We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise and national pride. We believe in Harris and Walz. Our brother Bobby’s decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story.”

Read more:

RFK Jr.’s possible alliance with Trump threatens to roil election

Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

CATCH UP QUICK

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell sent a clear signal that interest rate cuts are coming soon, while acknowledging weaker labor conditions.
The U.S. is sending an additional $125 million in military aid to Ukraine.
The White House national security adviser is heading to China to lay the groundwork for a potential meeting between President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

NEW THIS AFTERNOON

Battle for the Sun Belt

Former President Trump has been camped out in the Southwest for the past few days, visiting the Southern border in Arizona and promoting his “no tax on tips” policy in Nevada, where service workers are an electoral force.

Trump’s Southwest campaign underscores the importance of the Sun Belt states in the 2024 election, which also includes Georgia and North Carolina.

In Arizona, the Trump campaign is accusing Vice President Harris of overseeing a “border bloodbath.”

Harris swung back in her convention speech, accusing Trump of sinking the bipartisan border bill in the Senate earlier this year.
“Last year, Joe and I brought together Democrats and conservative Republicans to write the strongest border bill in decades. The Border Patrol endorsed it. But Donald Trump believes a border deal would hurt his campaign. So he ordered his allies in Congress to kill the deal. Well, I refuse to play politics with our security. Here is my pledge to you: As President, I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he killed. And I will sign it into law.”

Both campaigns are focused on Sun Belt Latino voters, who still vote in large numbers for Democrats but have moved to the right in recent elections.

A new poll of Arizona Hispanics finds Harris leading big over Trump, 59 percent to 34 percent.
That’s a much smaller margin than President Biden had in 2020, when he took 75 percent support among Arizona Hispanics and squeaked past Trump by only 11,000 votes.
Trump and Harris are effectively tied in the The Hill/ Decision Desk HQ average of Arizona polls.

Georgia is another traditionally red swing-state that Biden won in 2020. Republicans also lost both Senate races in Georgia that year.

Trump has long warred with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp for refusing to challenge the election results in the state. Trump backed an unsuccessful primary challenge against Kemp last cycle.
His feud has been angering Republicans in the Peach State, warning that Trump risks fumbling Georgia away once again.
Kemp’s political team has been lauded for its GOP turnout efforts in the state, which could boost Trump, if he’d drop the feud.

Trump tweeted at Kemp on Thursday night in an apparent effort to mend fences.

“Thank you to Brian Kemp for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our party and, most importantly, our country. I look forward to working with you, your team, and all of my friends in Georgia to help make America great again!”

That was an apparent response to Kemp going on Fox News to reiterate his support for Trump.

“We need to send Donald Trump back to the White House. We need to retake the Senate. We need to hold the House.”

Trump has a small 2.7 point advantage in The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average of Georgia polls.

Democrats are feeling good coming out of the convention, with Harris establishing a small lead in the polls.

But The Atlantic’s Gilad Edelman notes that the polls in 2016 and 2020 underestimated Trump’s support:

“According to The New York Times, Biden led by 10 points in Wisconsin but won it by less than 1 point; he led Michigan by 8 and won by 3; he led in Pennsylvania by 5 and won by about 1. As of this writing, Harris is up in all three states, but by less than Biden was. A 2020-size error would mean that she’s actually down—and poised to lose the Electoral College.”

Perspectives:

The Wall Street Journal: Harris is off to a strong start.
Thomas Sowell: Republicans better get on the ball.
Freddie DeBoer: Harris isn’t winning this race yet.
The Washington Post: It’s Harris’s party now.

Read more:

Dem pollsters have a warning about Harris’s lead.
Former FBI Director James Comey backs Harris.

SECRET SERVICE

Agents disciplined amid Trump assassination probe

The U.S. Secret Service has placed several agents on leave amid its investigation into the security failures that led to the assassination attempt on former President Trump.

CBS reports that the head of the Pittsburgh field office is among those disciplined after a 20-year old gunman scaled a roof and grazed Trump with a bullet while he spoke at a rally in Butler, Pa.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned in July after disastrous testimony in front of Congress, where she declined to provide any details into the security failures at the rally.
A bipartisan task force in the House has begun its investigation into the matter.
Trump has started speaking behind bulletproof glass at outdoor events.

On Thursday, Trump abruptly ended an interview with NewsNation at the Southern border in Arizona after his security detail warned him about a potential threat.

“Can I tell you something? We’re in danger standing here talking. So let’s not talk any longer,” he said.

A 66-year old Arizona man was later arrested for threatening to kill Trump.

The Hill and NewsNation are both owned by Nexstar Media Group.

📺 SUNDAY SHOWS

Greg Nash, The Hill

Here’s who’s coming up on the Sunday shows:

NBC’s “Meet the Press”: GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio); Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Arizona GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake; senior DNC spokesperson Hannah Muldavin; former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.).

CNN “Inside Politics Sunday”: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.); Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.).

CNN’s “State of the Union”: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.); Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.).

CBS “Face the Nation”: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R); Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.).

ABC “This Week”: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).

FOX’s “Fox News Sunday”: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D).

Compiled by The Hill’s Elizabeth Crisp.

IN OTHER NEWS

Harris seeks to appeal to both sides in Gaza conflict

Democratic fears that the Chicago convention would be overrun by unruly protesters failed to materialize, although some demonstrators still left with bitter feelings after the convention failed to feature a Palestinian American speaker.

Vice President Harris tried to appease both sides in her convention speech, saying Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorists but that their military response has killed or displaced thousands of innocents in Gaza.

“Let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself. Because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that the terrorist organization Hamas caused on October 7th. Including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival. At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking.”

There are new concerns that the Biden administration’s handling of the war in Gaza will cost Democrats on the margins on Election Day, particularly in Michigan, where more than 100,000 Democrats voted “uncommitted” in the primary.

The Hill’s Niall Stanage has this takeaway:

“[Harris’s speech] will be a dissatisfying response for the activists who are most outraged about the Biden administration’s support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But Harris is betting she will lose few votes in that regard in the end — and that any failure to defend Israel could carry worse electoral consequences.”

Harris said she and President Biden are working around the clock to achieve a peace deal between Israel and Hamas.
So far, the deal has proven elusive, and there are fears that the Middle East is moving closer to a wider conflict with each day that passes.

Read more: