Date: September 22, 2024, 05:51h.
Last updated: September 22, 2024, 05:51h.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., made a stop in Las Vegas on Saturday to show support for former president Donald Trump in his quest to return to the White House.
Kennedy, a former Democrat turned independent, withdrew from the 2024 presidential race in August, throwing his support behind Trump, the Republican nominee.
Vanishing of the Democratic Party from the ’60s
Kennedy, a member of a prominent Democrat family, expressed that the Democratic Party from the era of his father and uncle no longer exists.
In his speech at the Bob Price Recreational Center in Las Vegas, Kennedy highlighted that Trump’s campaign theme of Make America Great Again (MAGA) aims to bring back the glory of the 1960s when his uncle, John Kennedy, was president.
He stated, “We were a moral authority across the world,” as reported by the Las Vegas Sun.
Kennedy also mentioned his recent conversation with Sean O’Brien, general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
“He told me to send his love to Donald Trump,” Kennedy shared.
The Teamsters union has decided not to officially endorse any candidate in the presidential race.
Also present at the event alongside Kennedy was former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii who now identifies as an independent and previously ran for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Criticism of Dick Cheney
During their speeches at the Trump campaign’s Reclaim America Tour, both Kennedy and Gabbard criticized former Vice President Dick Cheney, a Republican who endorsed Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Gabbard addressed the crowd, saying, “The fact that she is celebrating the support of someone like Dick Cheney tells you everything you need to know about what kind of commander in chief she will be.”
Last week, Kennedy took to Facebook to explain that if Trump is reelected, he will work towards ending ongoing conflicts, eliminating government corruption, protecting civil liberties, and establishing a unity government.
One rally attendee, Robert Bourke from Las Vegas, switched his support from Robert Kennedy to Trump, as reported by the Sun.
“Trump has embraced a lot of the qualities of Kennedy’s campaign,” Bourke mentioned. “I felt like they had very similar platforms to begin with.”
In response to why Kennedy and Gabbard joined the Trump campaign in Las Vegas, Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, shared with Casino.org, “Trump is interested in these former candidates because they have the potential to attract Democratic votes, particularly from young men with conservative leanings.”
“This forms a coalition that Trump needs to retain and mobilize for voting, both significant challenges in the current political landscape,” he added.
Trump made an appearance in Las Vegas earlier this month but did not secure a victory in Nevada in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
A recent poll released by Las Vegas TV station KLAS and Emerson College indicated that both Harris and Trump are tied at 48% of the Nevada vote. Only 2% of the state’s voters are undecided or support other candidates.
Harris visited Nevada in the summer as part of her campaign and shares Trump’s stance on the elimination of taxes on tips, a policy favored by hospitality workers at casinos and hotels.