Trump’s Embrace of ‘Anti-Vax Kook’ RFK Jr. Is a ‘Self-Destructive’ Move, Top GOP Donor Says
Donald Trump’s embrace of “anti-vax kook” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Bernie Sanders supporter Tulsi Gabbard will be his “self-destructive” downfall, top GOP donor Eric Levine wrote in an email to his fundraising partners, made public Wednesday.
Levine warned at the end of his message that if Trump does not “fight for the middle,” he will “forever be known from this day forward as the ‘former president.’”
Levine previously supported Nikki Haley during the Republican primaries but has stated the he will vote for Trump in November.
The Trump campaign announced Wednesday that Kennedy and Gabbard had been added to the GOP candidate’s transition team following their public endorsements.
Kennedy dropped out of the presidential race as an independent on Friday and immediately endorsed Trump. In his concession speech, Kennedy spoke about his family’s connection to the Democratic Party, and his own distaste for the party now.
“It had become the party of war, censorship, corruption, big pharma, big tech and big money,” he said, “When it abandoned democracy by canceling the primary to conceal the cognitive decline of the sitting president, I left the party to run as an independent.”
Read Levine’s letter admonishing Trump for adding “fringe” political figures like Kennedy and Gabbard to his ranks in full below:
In a new email, Eric Levine, a top GOP donor who said last March he would vote for Trump “reluctantly and with reservations,” assails the former president for adding RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard to his transition team:
“It is hard to imagine a more self-destructive announcement.” pic.twitter.com/am31Fxxq7h
— Matthew Kassel (@matthewkassel) August 28, 2024
At the beginning of his message — titled with the subject line, “Is Trump Trying to Lose?” — Levine said, “Yesterday, the Trump campaign proudly announced that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard endorsed the former president and are being added to his transition team. It is hard to imagine a more self-destructive announcement.
“RFK is an anti-vax kook who sees conspiracies behind every tree and under every bed, and Gabbard is the former vice-chair of the DNC and co-chair of the 2016 Bernie Sanders for President campaign. She endorsed Sanders because of his ‘sound judgement’ on foreign policy, which she believed would ‘usher in a new era of peace and prosperity.’ Sanders is a self-avowed socialist. He is an isolationist. He hates the America we love and everything it stands for. Yet, Gabbard endorsed him, and this is who Trump is embracing. There is something terribly wrong with this picture.
“Rather than seeking and coveting the endorsement of fringe candidates with fringe policy positions that offend most Republicans and Independents, Trump would be better served by announcing he added Nikki Haley to his transition team. It is her voters he should be focused on.
“Kamala Harris is lying about her record for a reason. She is a radical progressive who may not understand that her policies are destructive and will destroy the America we know and love, but she certainly understands that they are unpopular and that her record is one of failure. It is for those reasons that she has focused her campaign on rebranding herself. Her entire campaign strategy is to appeal to Haley voters, independents and women; Reagan voters. These should be solid Trump voters. Harris’ lies are easily exposed if Trump remains focused on policy and records. Yet, they are up for grabs because Trump seems to be laser focused on narrowing his base rather than expanding it.
“Trump only helps Harris in her orchestrated act of national deception when he embraces fringe candidates like RFK and Gabbard.
“As a former Haley voter and Reagan Republican, I say to you, Mr. Trump, speak to me and my fellow Republicans. Reject the fringes. Fight for the middle. If you do not, you will forever be known from this day as the ‘former president,’” Levine concluded.
The Trump campaign responded to Levin’s missive in a statement to media later Wednesday.
“As President Trump’s broad coalition of supporters and endorsers expands across partisan lines, we are proud that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard have been added to the Trump/Vance Transition team,” senior campaign adviser Brian Hughes said. “We look forward to having their powerful voices on the team as we work to restore America’s greatness.”
