RFK Jr warns Trump's conviction will 'backfire' as Dems are going to courts because they 'can't win fair'
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr appeared alongside Fox News host Jesse Watters to share his take on the conviction of former President Donald Trump in the criminal hush money trial on the May 31 episode of 'Primetime.'
Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records by a New York jury on the previous day. It was a historic moment as the presumptive GOP nominee became the first former POTUS to be convicted of any crime. Penalties faced by Trump include fines and up to four years in prison on each count, and he is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, four days ahead of the Republican National Convention.
RFK Jr says on Donald Trump's conviction will 'backfire' on Democrats
"I think this conviction is going to backfire on the Democrats," Kennedy Jr told Watters, noting that Trump's approval ratings increased "every time he got indicted."
"There are a large number of Americans who are going to see his as the politicization (and) weaponization of the enforcement agencies, and I think it's bad for our democracy," he continued. "I think the DNC feels like it has a candidate that cannot win fair and square in the polls and so they have to win in the courts, they have to win by clearing the deck and getting their other opponents out of the race."
While claiming not to be a fan of Trump, Kennedy Jr said he wanted to defeat him "on a level playing field." He also wanted to lend his voice to the issues raised by Trump during his campaign, regarding the economy and ongoing foreign conflicts.
"I don't want to beat him (Trump) in a courtroom. I think it's not good for our country and I think it's really going to backfire on the Democrats," he stated.
RFK Jr says Robert Kennedy warned 'never prosecute based on politics'
Kennedy Jr brought up his father, US Attorney General and Senator Robert F Kennedy, saying that "in his first week in office in 1961, he called in all the division heads, the bureau chiefs of the Department of Justice, and he said, 'Rule number 1: Politics is out of the window. We never prosecute based upon politics...'"
"The reason he did that is because he understood how important it is for our country, the American people, to have faith that the judicial system is neutral, that all of us need to respect it. If we start believing that it is politicized, it is terrible for our country," RFK Jr said.
"That's why prosecutors, even when there is a case against a former President, like there was against President Nixon and many others, that they usually err on the side of caution of not bringing it because we risk making ourselves look like a third-world country, like a banana republic," he added.
