Former President Donald Trump has called 2024 Democratic candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. “a very smart person” following a controversial statement Kennedy recently made about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kennedy recently shared his idea during a question-and-answer period at a New York restaurant on the Upper East Side, where he answered questions about COVID-19, biological weapons, and China’s interest in such a virus. He specifically theorized that the coronavirus was designed not to affect certain groups, including Jews and Chinese people.
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“He’s a very smart person,” Trump said during a Sunday interview with Fox News. “I know a lot of the members of that family, and you know, he’s a very smart guy. And he’s hit a little bit of a nerve. I think he really has. And a lot of Democrats I know want to vote for him.”
Kennedy is running in the Democratic primary race for the 2024 presidential election and is seen by many to be President Joe Biden’s biggest challenger. When asked about Kennedy’s chances of beating Biden, Trump said that it was unlikely Kennedy would even get the chance to debate the president.
“Number one, Biden can’t debate him because he’s not capable,” Trump said. “And number two, why would he debate him for that reason, but also why would he debate him if he’s probably got it locked up? I don’t see RFK Jr., I don’t see him getting the nomination under any circumstances.”
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A poll from the Economist and YouGov last month found that 49% of respondents viewed Kennedy very or somewhat favorably, compared to just 30% who viewed him very or somewhat unfavorably, a net favorability of 19 percentage points and the highest net favorability among all 2024 presidential candidates. In contrast, 51% of respondents had a very or somewhat unfavorable view of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, compared to just 27% who viewed him very or somewhat favorably, a net favorability of -24 points, putting him last among net favorability for 2024 candidates.
A recent poll, conducted from July 8 to July 11, showed 61% of voters believe Biden is not the strongest candidate the Democrats could nominate, while 53% of voters believe Trump is not the strongest candidate Republicans could nominate in 2024. Among the most skeptical about the two front-runners, Trump 2020 voters were the most doubtful that Biden was the strongest candidate the Democrats could nominate in 2024 (84%), while Biden 2020 voters were the most skeptical that Trump was the strongest candidate the Republicans could nominate in 2024 (76%).
