Republican strategist Karl Rove suggested Wednesday that independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsing former President Trump could help the GOP nominee in Georgia and Arizona, two key swing states in November.
“My gut tells me it probably helps Donald Trump, because the people who were for him because he was a Kennedy, I think they began leaving after Joe Biden pulled out on the 21st, so a small amount of help,” Rove told Fox News in an interview.
“But as you know, in a race like this, think about it. Did he have 10,000 followers in Georgia? Did he have 11,000 followers in Arizona? And then how did they split? It’s probably not this positive, but it could have an impact,” he added.
Rove’s comments came after multiple Kennedy insiders spoke over the phone Wednesday to discuss the state of the race. It also follows reporting from multiple outlets that Kennedy is weighing dropping out of the race and endorsing Trump.
The independent candidate will deliver special remarks Friday in Arizona, the same day Trump will be in the Grand Canyon State, his campaign announced Wednesday. The speech will focus on “the present historical moment and his path forward,” according to a press release.
Trump has said he would be “honored” to have an endorsement from Kennedy.
“If he endorsed me. I would be honored by it. I would be very honored by it,” Trump said during a phone call with “Fox & Friends.”
“He really has his heart in the right place. He is a respected person,” the former president added. “Women love some of his policies, and I guess some people don’t like some of his policies.”
Georgia and Arizona are slated to be close races in the fall after President Biden narrowly won both states in 2020. The election handicapper Cook Political Report earlier this month shifted its ratings for both states toward Vice President Harris, as she rose to the top of the ticket following Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race.
The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s polling index shows Trump with a 2.7 percentage point lead in Georgia and a 0.1 percentage point lead in Arizona over Harris.