During a speech in Philadelphia over the weekend, Donald Trump offered gushing praise for third-party candidates Cornel West and Jill Stein, claiming he likes their campaigns because they’re effectively spoilers for President Joe Biden’s re-election. (He was not as bullish on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., however.)
“Cornel West — he’s one of my favorite candidates, Cornel West,” Trump said. “And I like — I like her also. Jill Stein. I like her very much. You know why? She takes 100% from [Biden]. [West] takes 100%. Kennedy’s probably 50/50, but he’s a fake.”
Here, I find Trump being far more honest about the purported benefits of voting for third-party candidates in this year’s election than even some of West, Kennedy or Stein’s supporters have been. Contrary to their claims, it seemed abundantly clear from the moment these candidates launched their campaigns that they would be spoilers who could help Trump win this fall. Aside from Trump, MAGA enthusiasts certainly feel this way, as well. And I agree with them on some level. A hollering Black preacher, a kooky Kennedy and an ostensibly progressive climate activist are certainly the kinds of figures you might see deployed in the Kremlin’s “controlled opposition” strategy, and they all look like tools of the MAGA movement today.
The candidates themselves have done little to debunk the idea that they’re meant to be anti-Biden spoilers. Last year, I reported on the right-wing DNA evident in West’s presidential bid. NBC’s recent reporting on the backing West has received from folks tied to right-wing organizations only adds to my suspicion. Stein has earned scrutiny for her open association with Trump-loving Russian President Vladimir Putin and the support she’s received from the Kremlin. Her campaign recently had to defend its use of a political organizer who’s been charged in an alleged criminal effort to suppress votes for Biden in the New Hampshire Democratic primary.
And Kennedy, who was reportedly convinced by Steve Bannon to run for president, has received financial backing in his campaign from Trump-supporting billionaire Timothy Mellon. A wealthy heir whose autobiography claims that Black people got “more belligerent” after the Civil Rights Movement and compares social programs to slavery, Mellon is Kennedy’s biggest backer.
Whether Trump is correct in assuming these third-party candidates will help him win is unclear. But his remarks are accurate in suggesting that appears to be their purpose.
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