Barnes on Trump/RFK Jr. Alliance

Robert Barnes speculated tonight on the possibility of an alliance between Trump and RFK, Jr. He has no direct knowledge of discussions between the two, but believes it is “more likely than not” that the two will work together. This would mean RFK, Jr., dropping his independent campaign and endorsing Trump. Trump would promise to give RFK, Jr., a key role in fixing the big government/big business cartels in food and medicine. Key comments:

• RFK’s VP pick, Nicole Shanahan, openly discussed this option on a crypto/libertarian interview.
• Barnes predicted six months ago that RFK Jr. would get the Nader treatment. He would get locked out of Democrat primaries. Running as an independent, he would face lawfare at every turn. RFK Jr. is used to fighting in courts against regulatory and corporate malfeasance. He has had mostly good experiences in this area. Political cases are totally different. Both Democratic and Republican judges will jump on any way to prevent a fair trial. It sounds cynical, but it is based on decades of experience.
• RFK and Shanahan have openly soured on Democrats. They were locked out of primaries. The legacy media has given them close to zero coverage. They are locked out of debates. Both are idealists who genuinely want to spark a public debate and clean up corrupt systems. This treatment by Democrats will only increase their commitment to make changes in government. Democrats have turned a big donor and a top candidate into adversaries.
• Some of the senior advisers to Trump have Big Food/Big Medicine ties. They are very hostile to RFK Jr. and urged Trump to attack RFK Jr. openly.
• Trump tried to attack RFK Jr. at first. These attacks did not connect with Trump supporters, and Trump noticed this. Many Trump supporters are sympathetic to RFK Jr. positions. Two key things on Trump: 1) He genuinely likes and respects RFK Jr. 2) Trump is skeptical of Big Food/Big Medicine.
• Trump loves to win, but also loves competition. The Kennedy campaign has gotten Trump’s attention. Trump can see the positive appeal of Kennedy’s policies/platform.
• Trump quickly stopped his open attacks on RFK Jr. And RFK Jr. has been very measured in his criticisms of Trump. After the Trump assassination attempt, Trump offered RFK Jr. a path for the the two to work together. Barnes believes that this conversation was leaked deliberately by both sides.
• A Unity Party for 2024 between Trump and RFK Jr. is “more likely than not.” It dramatically improves Trump’s chance for victory in 2024. The Kennedy influence will make Trump more populist, particularly on financial freedom and medical freedom. This is a game changer, and makes real reform possible in Trump’s second term. Barnes noted, be smart tactically and you can get opponents as allies.
• In replying to a Locals question, Barnes noted that Democrats are totally into identity politics. Abortion is one of their top topics. But ordinary people consistently rank their top two issues as 1) their pocketbook and 2) personal/family safety. Abortion is ranked as the top issue by 3% of the population. This is a big indicator on why Trump and RFK Jr. working together is a big winner in November.

Click hear to hear Robert discuss this on his Locals site in a “Bourbon with Barnes” (subscription required).