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By Patrick Svitek
(c) 2024 , The Washington Post
Democrats on Friday entered the weekend energized from their national convention and looking to keep up momentum in the coming weeks, which will feature the first debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump.
Harris was already gaining on Trump in national and state polling before Democrats convened for four days in Chicago, ending Thursday. And it is not uncommon for presidential nominees to see a polling bump in the immediate aftermath of their party’s national conventions.
But this race has been anything but predictable, and it saw another new wrinkle Friday when independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his campaign and announced he will support Trump.
Harris and Trump are set to meet for their first debate on Sept. 10 on ABC. Trump has pushed for more debates, but Harris’s campaign has suggested it wants to first ensure he shows up for the ABC debate.
Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, have committed to an Oct. 1 debate on CBS.
Harris was leaving Chicago on Friday looking to prove Republicans wrong – including Trump – who have argued that she has enjoyed a “honeymoon” period since President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign last month and backed her as the new Democratic nominee.
Harris has since seen a surge in fundraising and Democratic enthusiasm, while polls have pointed to a more competitive race nationally and in battleground states.
Harris and Walz were expected to take a break from the campaign trail Friday, while Trump headed to two battleground states, Nevada and Arizona.
Trump’s campaign announced Thursday evening that a “special guest” will join him at the Glendale rally.
“I have no idea if he’s going to endorse me,” Trump said late Thursday night on Fox News, acknowledging that he will be in the same state as Kennedy on Friday. “It’s possible we will be meeting tomorrow and we’ll be discussing it.”
The spotlight turend to Arizona hours after the end of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where Harris closed out the four-day gathering.
In her speech, she reflected on her “unexpected” path to the nomination after iden ended his reelection campaign last month, adding that, as a child of immigrants, she is “no stranger to unlikely journeys.”
“Our nation, with this election, has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past, a chance to chart a new way forward,” Harris said.
Trump criticized Harris’s speech in real time on his Truth Social platform after spending the day in Arizona criticizing Harris’s approach to border security.
Fielding reporters’ questions at the Arizona-Mexico border, Trump said he only knew of the reports that Kennedy may endorse him but added that it would be a “great honor.”
“I have a lot of respect for RFK Jr., you know that,” Trump said. “I’ve known him a long time. Very smart. A little bit different, but that’s okay. But he’s a very smart guy. He’s loved by a lot of people.”
Those comments were a reversal for Trump, who previously accused Kennedy of being a Democratic plant and a “Radical Left Liberal.”
Trump said Thursday he has talked with Kennedy multiple times in recent months “but not recently.”
Harris campaign aides have downplayed the impact that a Kennedy endorsement of Trump would have on the race. Kennedy sought earlier this month to meet with Harris to discuss a possible role in her administration if he backs her and she wins, The Post reported.
During a Washington Post Live event Thursday, Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon encouraged Kennedy supporters to join the Democratic side.
“We don’t know for sure what’s going to happen here, but we are building a party and a campaign that welcomes everyone,” O’Malley Dillon said. “If you are someone that was with RFK before, you have a home here.”
Kennedy’s poll numbers have declined in recent weeks, though his supporters could still affect the outcome in battleground states where the race is expected to be close. Kennedy received the support of 4 percent of likely voters in a Quinnipiac University survey of Pennsylvania conducted earlier this month.
The Democratic National Committee released a memo Friday morning arguing that a Kennedy endorsement of Trump would change “nothing.” The memo, from DNC adviser Ramsey Reid, pointed to the shrinking number of Americans telling pollsters they will vote for him and his declining favorability rating, especially among Democrats.
“With no meaningful base of support and sky-high negatives among Democrats, RFK Jr.’s threat to VP Harris was neutralized,” Reid wrote.
The prospect of Kennedy endorsing Trump has alarmed some of the independent’s backers. In an email to Texas supporters Thursday, Kennedy’s state director, Wes Benedict, said he hopes Kennedy stays in the race but that he will “understand and support whatever decision” Kennedy makes.
Trump is starting Friday with a trip to Las Vegas, where he will promote his proposal to end taxes on tips for service workers, an idea he first proposed there in June. Harris has since voiced support for the proposal, prompting Trump to accuse her of stealing his policy.
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Meryl Kornfield contributed to this report.
