Democrats no longer?This election campaign has not been short of surprises. Yet, it was still quite a shock to see one-time Democrat and scion of the most famous family in American politics, Robert F Kennedy Jnr, abandon his bid as an independent and endorse Donald Trump on the 23rd of August. The same Donald Trump who he had previously described as “a terrible human being” and “probably a sociopath” who had “promised to drain the swamp (before) he filled his administration with swamp creatures.” Back in May 2023, RKF Jnr stated “under no circumstances” would he join Trump as VP as their positions and philosophies “could not be further apart”. It has now emerged that in the hours after the assassination attempt on Trump, efforts were made to convince RFK Jnr to join Trump on the Presidential ticket, but these attempts were rebuffed, and JD Vance was named instead. RFK Jr. stopped short of joining the Trump ticket but was happy enough to ignore his past misgivings and endorse Trump for President. So what’s changed?RFK Jr. has stated that he believes Trump has “changed as a person,” but his misgivings about the DNC and the direction of the Democratic party he belonged to for so long have driven this decision, allowing him to endorse Trump despite any lingering issues toward the man himself. These issues with the DNC were insufficient to stop RFK Jnr from reportedly contacting the Harris campaign and asking for a cabinet post before endorsing Trump. When this was rebuffed, he attacked Harris via a post on X where he criticised the Democrats as “the party of censorship, lockdowns and medical coercion…riddled with warmongers” and the “party of Big Tech, Big Pharma and Wall Street”. Whether you view this as a well-intentioned last-ditch attempt to change the direction of the party of his father and uncle from within or a cynical attempt to preserve his political career, regardless of which party he chooses to be affiliated with, will be informed by your view on RFK Jnr. It may well be that RFK Jnr realised that the path to the presidency was impossible as an independent in a two-party system and wished to assess which path would allow him to make the most impact in his ongoing battle against Big Pharma. Trump’s promise to release the evidence around the assassination of his uncle JFK may have also swayed the decision, although Trump has also made this promise before. Only days after RFK’s endorsement, one-time Democrat presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard followed suit and completed her unlikely 180-degree journey. Gabbard, a veteran of the Iraq war who also served in the Hawaii National Guard, has been a vocal critic of the direction of the Democrat party, penning a book that leaves no doubt of her issues with the DNC titled “For Love of Country: Leave the Democrat Party Behind.” Desperation at the actions of the DNC has forced her to embrace Trump, ignoring any previous misgivings of a man she previously labelled as “unfit to serve as president and commander in chief”. Addressing a National Guard convention where Trump was speaking on the 26th of August, Gabbard warned that “This administration has us facing multiple wars on multiple fronts in regions around the world and closer to the brink of nuclear war than we ever have been before.” She went on to state that Trump would “do the work to walk us back from the brink of war” and attacked Harris and the DNC for weaponising American institutions against political opponents like Trump and herself. While examining these two defections, we must consider what they say about the individuals, their motivations, and the state of the party they left behind. For RFK Jnr, being ignored and refused in his attempts to compete against President Biden to lead the Democrat ticket would have been a painful and bitter personal pill to swallow. After all, he would far rather have followed in his famous uncle and father’s footsteps and attempted to lead the Democrats than compete as an Independent. Gabbard has also been driven from a party she once not only belonged to but also competed in the primary in 2020 to head the ticket. During this primary process, she was attacked by Hilary Clinton, who obliquely referenced her as being the “favourite of the Russians” and being “groomed to be the third party candidate.” Although not named, the inference was clear and confirmed by Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill, who stated, “If the nesting doll fits”, when asked if Clinton was referencing Gabbard. For Gabbard, this is the punishment for daring to question the wisdom of American foreign policy. Not only this, but Gabbard claims she has been placed on a domestic terrorism watch list, only serving to enhance her claims that the DNC is willing to go to any length to eliminate dissenting voices. There is undoubtedly truth in the claims of RFK that the Democrats have come to represent powerful outside interests, functioning as a vital organ of the American oligarchy. This is, however, no different from the Republican party, which also serves these same outside interests. For Gabbard, DNC censorship of conflicting opinions and the threat of nuclear conflict with Russia seems to have been the main drivers in her decision, and she views the Democrats as an existential threat to humanity. Perhaps RFK Jnr sees Trump as the only remaining potential “Hail Mary” that can interrupt the American Oligarchy and these special interests. Maybe the same is true for Gabbard, who may believe she supports the lesser of two evils. Again, whether you think either of these assessments of Trump is accurate, naïve, or simply misguided will depend on your position on the “Trump interpretation” we discussed in my recent newsletter. I may not agree with many of their views. Still, I believe that Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr. have frequently demonstrated that they are moral individuals with integrity and believe their actions are for the common good. Whilst I do not believe the same can be said for Trump, the decision to include both in his transition team, where they can potentially exert influence in the event of his election, is undoubtedly a positive development. Join me next time when we look at those who have crossed the aisle the other way, shocked at the Trump takeover of the Republican party, convincing them to leave and join the Democrats.
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