Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke to Dr. Phil last week detailing his strategy to prevent a Kamala Harris presidency by remaining on the ballot in blue states.
RFK joined Dr. Phil on Friday after announcing he would suspend his campaign and forge a “unity” ticket with Donald Trump, but before appearing on-stage with the former president at a rally in Glendale, Arizona.
WEDNESDAY: RFK JR says he removed his name from swing state ballots to avoid a Kamala victory#RFKJr #RFKJr24 #DrPhil #Primetime #MeritTV pic.twitter.com/9Ojd7jtAGN
— Dr. Phil (@DrPhil) August 25, 2024
Read a transcript of the interview below:
Dr. Phil: Here’s the thing, you crafted a trail in your press conference. You’re staying on the ballot in the red and blue states, in the swing states. People have said that this could come down to 15 counties in 11 different states—11 of those counties in seven states, including where we are right now, that you said you don’t want to be on the ballot area. You don’t want people to vote for you there. Do you think you can be the determining factor in this presidential election because of the positioning? Of course, if they don’t get to 270, if they tie at 269, it’s a whole different ballgame. But if this comes down to independents in those 15 counties in those 11 states, and you’ve given your support to the Trump candidacy, do you feel like you may very well be the one that selects the next president of the United States by your influence?
RFK Jr.: Well, that’s possible, but I could—I would have if I had stayed on the ballot in the swing states. And what I’ve done, Phil, is we’re taking my name off the ballots in 10 states that are swing states. We’re leaving them on in the red states, in the blue states, so people can vote for me without consequence. You know, they’re not gonna be scared—oh, the bad guy’s gonna get elected. You know who’s gonna get elected in those states. And so it allows people to vote for me who want to vote for me without any consequence.
But what we recognize from our polling is that if I stayed in the race, it would have almost certainly swung the race to Vice President Harris, who was trying to throw me off the ballot in all the states, ironically. But I thought that that would not be a good outcome because I differ with her on all the issues—on the issues of war, on the issues of censorship, on the issues of chronic disease, and many, many other issues. I did not want to give the election—I didn’t think it would be right to give the election to her.
And our polling from the beginning showed pretty consistently that if I got out of the race, 57% of the people who are supporting me would vote for Trump. And so me staying in the race would have swung the race—very likely could have swung the race to Harris. And so just getting out of the race, I think, makes it a fair race between them.
Dr. Phil: Well, you’re double digits in some of these swing states?
RFK Jr.: Yeah, I am.
Dr. Phil: And 57% of those people go to former President Trump. That’s a real boost to him. That’s a real boom to him.
Dr. Phil: Yeah, it is. No, I think it—you know, our decision—or my decision about what to do—I think it’s much more likely that President Trump will get elected.
RFK Jr.: So you do acknowledge that?
Dr. Phil: Yes. And you have enough that you agree with him on priority-wise that you’re more comfortable with that than if it went the other way, even though you’ve grown up—
RFK Jr.: Even though I grew up in the Democratic Party. And, you know, I had the same kind of orientation towards abhorrence, I’d say, President Trump as many Democrats maybe, you know, four years ago, mainly because of his environmental stances, which, you know, I continue to disagree with.
But our conversation—my conversation with President Trump was very amiable. And I—you know, he talked about starting a unity party, about President Lincoln and his team of rivals. And I could come in and support him because of these existential issues—censorship, war, chronic disease—that I feel strongly about, he feels strongly about, and that Kamala is on the wrong side of. I could continue to criticize him on issues where I don’t agree with him, and he was very comfortable with that. And I like that too. I don’t—you know, I’m not gonna co-sign a lot of the things he says and endorses, but on those issues and on the border, I’m with him.
Dr. Phil: Are you going to actively campaign for President Trump?
RFK Jr.: Yes, I will.
Dr. Phil: Okay, so I may be sitting here talking to the one person in this country that is going to pick the next president of the United States by what you did today.
RFK Jr.: That is possible.
Dr. Phil: It certainly is. I agreed to have you in the car in 45 minutes. We’re at 44 right now.
RFK’s full interview with Dr. Phil is set to be released Wednesday.
Following the discussion, RFK received a hero’s welcome when he appeared on-stage at a MAGA rally near Phoenix as a special guest of former President Trump.