A campaign official for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s New York operation suggested to a group of Republican voters Friday that the independent candidate could help former President Donald Trump in his rematch with President Joe Biden.
According to the video of the event, which was posted on the Uncle Mertie YouTube account and then taken down, Rita Palma, who identified herself as Kennedy's New York state director, encouraged GOP voters to sign a petition to put Kennedy on the ballot in New York, arguing it would "get rid of Biden" and might even hand former President Trump a win in a heavily Democratic state.
"The only way that Trump can even (have a) remote possibility of taking New York is if Bobby is on the ballot," Palma said. If it's Trump v. Biden, Biden wins."
The idea that Kennedy would be a spoiler for either candidate is one Kennedy has consistently denied.
Palma, who started working with the campaign a few weeks ago as a ballot access consultant overseeing volunteer shifts in New York, also raised the possibility that Kennedy might even win New York, which could also be helpful to Trump.
"Let's allocate those 28 (New York) electoral votes to Bobby instead of Biden, thus bringing down Biden's count to 270. And we all understand how crucial that number is in winning the election, right — 270 is the magic number," Palma suggested. "If no candidate reaches 270, then Congress gets to choose the president, correct? Currently, we have a majority of Republicans in Congress."
Following Palma's comments, the campaign responded, stating, "[Rita Palma] is not engaged in national or New York electoral strategies. This was not a campaign-sanctioned event."
"Palma was expressing her personal views and her statements do not align with the Kennedy campaign's strategy, which aims to secure the White House with support from former Trump and Biden backers," the campaign informed CBS News in a statement on Monday. Nevertheless, Palma's email address on the campaign's website identifies her as part of "team Kennedy."
In the video, Palma also mentioned that she had previously campaigned for Trump in Pennsylvania during the 2016 and 2020 elections. She urged voters to go door-to-door in Pennsylvania to assist Trump's reelection efforts.
"Head to Pennsylvania," she urged. "If you want to support Trump, go to Pennsylvania. Knock on doors."
The Kennedy campaign argues that if anything, RFK Jr.'s campaign is a spoiler for both Biden and Trump. However, Palma informed voters that the independent long shot is more of a spoiler for the Biden campaign. She referenced the Democratic National Committee's establishment of a group dedicated to undermining third-party campaigns.
"He's actually pulling a little bit more from Biden, which explains why the DNC is kind of ganging up on him," Palma said.
Palma's comments indicate differing motives among the campaign's supporters, prompting Democrats to suggest that some Trump allies may be backing Kennedy with the goal of helping the former president return to the White House.
"RFK Jr's campaign isn't building a plan or a strategy to get 270 electoral votes, they're building one to help Trump return to the Oval Office," DNC spokesperson Matt Corridoni said in a statement Monday.
The incident marks the second time in a week that the campaign revealed divisions in its approach to mobilizing voters for the independent candidate.
Over the weekend, Kennedy issued three statements in an attempt to walk back earlier comments calling Jan. 6 protesters "activists" who "had no weapons" after a fundraising ad was released in error by the campaign.
Kennedy apologized in an updated statement on Saturday and said, "My understanding that none of the January 6 rioters who invaded the capitol were carrying firearms was incorrect."
"Several have been convicted of carrying firearms into the Capitol building. Others assaulted Capitol police with pepper spray, bludgeons, and other makeshift weapons. This behavior is inexcusable," he said.
The campaign said it had terminated its contract with the marketing contractor who put together the fundraising ad.
