Donald Trump Goes Off On One Candidate For Stealing Potential Votes Away From Him In Tight Race Against Joe Biden: 'Would Essentially Be A WASTED PROTEST VOTE'

Last week, former President Donald Trump went on the attack against independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as election polls suggest that Kennedy could draw more votes away from Trump than from President Joe Biden.

What Happened: On Friday, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to target Kennedy, branding him as a "Radical Left Liberal" and stating that a vote for Kennedy would equate to a "wasted protest vote."

"RFK Jr. is a Democrat 'Plant,' a Radical Left Liberal who’s been put in place in order to help Crooked Joe Biden, the Worst President in the History of the United States, get Re-Elected," Trump wrote. "A Vote for Junior’ would essentially be a WASTED PROTEST VOTE, that could swing either way, but would only swing against the Democrats if Republicans knew the true story about him. Junior’ is totally Anti-Gun, an Extreme Environmentalist who makes the Green New Scammers look Conservative, a Big Time Taxer and Open Border Advocate, and Anti-Military/Vet…"

Kennedy, who has been more critical of Biden than Trump, responded to the former president's posts by challenging Trump to a debate on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Also Read: Courtroom Appearances By These Two Members Of Donald Trump's Family Could Help Him In Hush-Money Trial

When frightened men take to social media they risk descending into vitriol, which makes them sound unhinged. President Trump's rant against me is a barely coherent barrage of wild and inaccurate claims that should best be resolved in the American tradition of presidential debate.…

According to polls conducted by Marist College and NBC News, Biden could gain more support than Trump if the ballot were to include other candidates, such as Kennedy, Cornel West and Jill Stein. NBC News reported that Biden leads Trump by two points in a five-way ballot test.

Despite these findings, Biden and his allies remain wary of Kennedy, who once contemplated running against the president in the Democratic primaries. In fact, several Kennedy family members have endorsed Biden, viewing Kennedy as a potential spoiler.

Why It Matters: The current situation is intriguing, given that Trump's team had reportedly approached Kennedy about a potential vice-presidential role shortly after Trump announced his presidential campaign in April 2023.

However, in a February interview with Fox News, Trump later hinted at possibly selecting Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) or South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his running mate.

The race between Biden and Trump has tightened, as indicated by a recent poll by The New York Times and Siena College, which showed Trump holding a slim lead of just one point over Biden.

This marks a significant shift from a February poll that showed Trump leading Biden by five points in a two-way matchup.

Now Read: Trump Vs. Biden: One Candidate's Lead Narrows To Slim Margin Over Other

This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.