‘Colourful’ liability or swing state saviour: can RFK help Trump beat Harris?

RFK jnr gets out of Trump's way in key battleground states

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Independent candidate Robert F Kennedy jr suspended his long shot presidential bid on August 23rd and endorsed Donald Trump. Photograph: Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty
Independent candidate Robert F Kennedy jr suspended his long shot presidential bid on August 23rd and endorsed Donald Trump. Photograph: Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty

The frenetic US presidential election has entered a new phase.

Democrat hopeful Kamala Harris finally agreed to a media interview, set to appear on US TV tonight alongside her VP Tim Walz before CNN’s chief political correspondent Dana Bash.

And on Tuesday, special prosecutor Jack Smith filed a superseding indictment in the election interference case involving former president Donald Trump - keeping that in the headlines.

The decision by controversial independent candidate Robert Kennedy jnr (RFK) to suspend his campaign and throw his support – and votes – behind Donald Trump has kept the pollsters busy this week.

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Could he help Trump halt the momentum that has built behind Kamala Harris since the glittery Democratic National Convention or could the “colourful” scion of the Kennedy clan be a liability?

And now that both candidates are focusing on the battleground states – those states that could ultimately decide the outcome of the election on November 5th – what to they have to do to convince voters?

There have been murmurings this week that Trump is getting cold feet about a television debate – though Irish Times Washington correspondent Keith Duggan explains just why such a debate is vital for both candidates.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Aideen Finnegan.

Bernice Harrison

Bernice Harrison

Bernice Harrison is an Irish Times journalist and cohost of In the News podcast