A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Winston Churchill’s description of Soviet Russia in 1939 could also apply to the independent candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr in the presidential election of 2024. What we can say with certainty about RFK Jr is that, in a year when the American electorate is deeply unhappy about having to choose once again between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, he has the opportunity to win over an enormous number of disgruntled voters.
At first glance RFK appears to outflank Trump along the wackier fringes of US politics
He’s currently polling at up to 15 per cent. That makes him the biggest threat to the Republican-Democratic hold over presidential politics since Ross Perot, who in 1992 won some 19 per cent and came second in two states.
It also seems certain that, in what looks sure to be another very tight election, RFK will be condemned as a great spoiler by the candidate who comes second on 5 November.
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