Nominations define parties. But what we’re seeing in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s futile challenge to President Joe Biden is an odd situation in which a nomination skirmish won’t change anything in the Democratic Party, but might have real impact on the Republican Party.
Kennedy, who has promoted numerous conspiracy theories and falsehoods over the years, is doing relatively well in early presidential primary polls, running in the mid-teens in hypothetical match-ups with Biden. Democratic Party leaders have universally either condemned or ignored Kennedy’s campaign, and there is no party pressure on Biden to debate Kennedy or otherwise engage with him.
Yet Kennedy is getting a lot of attention and even interview appearances across Republican-aligned media, including Fox News. It’s not clear whether the goal of these outlets is to cause trouble for Biden in the primaries, or if any famous-ish Democrat attacking a Democratic president is automatically popular with Republican audiences.
