Paging all Arizonans: If you find yourself driving through Scottsdale sometime today, you may be lucky enough to see fresh evidence of the Democratic National Committee’s obsession with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s third-party presidential campaign.
In an apparent effort to counterprogram a private fundraiser the third-party presidential candidate is hosting there Tuesday evening, the DNC has paid for two billboards — one on Red Mountain Freeway at the Scottsdale Road Exit, another at Loop 202 toward Mesa, Ariz. — that feature a photo of the Democrat-turned-Independent RFK Jr. wearing a superimposed “Make America Great Again” ball cap next to former president Donald Trump. Scribbled in between both men are the words “RFK Jr. Spoiler for Trump” in giant script — a message that suggests national Democratic operatives want you to think they’re losing sleep over RFK Jr.’s electoral threat to Joe Biden in November.
Directionally challenged? Not to worry, a DNC spokesman took pains to hyperlink in his Monday afternoon press release the exact geographic coordinates of both billboards so that reporters can’t miss them: 33°26’05.3″N 111°54’09.0″W and 33°26’12.1″N 111°55’30.7″W.
This week’s billboards are just the cherry on top of an already RFK Jr.-obsessed week for national Democrats. Last Thursday, the president traveled to Philadelphia, Pa., last Thursday to accept endorsements from more than a dozen members of the Kennedy family.
“Daddy stood for equal justice, for human rights, and freedom from want and fear — just as President Biden does today,” an impassioned Kerry Kennedy said onstage at the event, which you can watch here. She notably declined to mention her brother by name during her remarks, instead only alluding to his third-party campaign as she drew stark comparisons between Biden and Trump. “In 2024, there are only two candidates with any chance of winning the presidency.”
Yikes! Sounds like RFK Jr. won’t be getting an invite to this year’s Kennedy family Thanksgiving.
(Side note number one: The Biden campaign’s political stunt reminds me of this campaign ad from 2018, when six of Representative Paul Gosar’s (R., Ariz.) nine siblings endorsed his Democratic opponent — an imperfect comparison, of course, considering Gosar represents a ruby-red district and won reelection that cycle by nearly 40 points.)
(Side note number two: This Monday evening article in NBC News is also worth the read, as it suggests Trump is privately concerned about RFK Jr.’s third-party threat to his own campaign. A key snippet from that story:
Republican voters view Kennedy much more favorably than Democrats. The [NBC] poll found that 40% of self-identified Republicans viewed Kennedy favorably, while 15% held negative views of the independent candidate. For Democrats, just 16% had positive views of Kennedy, while 53% expressed a negative view of him.
We’re still months out from November, and polling on third-party candidates remains murky this far out. But this particular NBC survey makes you wonder. . . .
At this point in election season, who are the intended targets of the DNC’s Scottsdale billboards?)