Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance questioned the Left’s collective outrage at Green Party nominee Dr. Jill Stein being on the November ballot while saying they appear to want the opposite for now-former fellow third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
“The Jill Stein thing is interesting, because the Democrats will attack Jill Stein while at the same time they’re trying to keep Bobby Kennedy on the ballot, even though Bobby Kennedy has already endorsed Donald J. Trump,” Vance said at a Wisconsin rally this week.
In 2016, Stein was dubbed a “spoiler” against Hillary Clinton, as her vote total exceeded the Democrat’s deficit in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.
“I think the Democrats, if they’re worried about spoilers, they ought to look in the mirror because Bobby Kennedy had a hell of a lot more support than Jill Stein ever did, and they’re trying to prevent him from getting off the ballot,” Vance said.
The Ohio senator quipped that the best person to vote for in November remains Trump, “and the second-best person to vote for is anyone not named Kamala Harris.”
Kennedy has launched litigation in several states to remove his name from the ballot since dropping out, as prior to his Trump endorsement, Democrats had themselves filed multiple lawsuits to keep him off the ballot.
JILL STEIN CALLS OUT BIDEN’S GAFFES
That attitude appeared to change after Kennedy’s campaign ended.
A spokesperson for progressive PAC “MoveOn” told Politico that Kennedy is “manufacturing scenarios that throw the ballot counting process of multiple states into disarray” at “Trump and MAGA’s direction.”
Stein, a physician from Fall River, Mass., ran for president on the Green Party line in 2012, 2016 and 2024. The party nominated self-described “ecosocialist” Howie Hawkins III in 2020.
As of late, Stein has been lambasted for continuing her quixotic candidacy as the race again narrows like it did in 2016.
In September, the Democratic National Committee branded Stein a Russian “useful idiot,” similar to how Clinton labeled now-Republican former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard a Kremlin asset.
According to the anti-Trump conservative publication “The Bulwark,” the “useful idiot” barb was the first time since 2023 that Democrats have prominently mentioned Stein.
A DNC spokesman told the outlet that Stein has “parrot[ed] Kremlin talking points and [was] propped-up by bad actors in 2016,” and is “at it again.”
“A vote for Stein is a vote for Trump,” the spokesman said.
RFK JR DENOUNCES ‘SPOILER’ LABEL
Meanwhile, the New York Times wrote a lengthy piece this week chronicling the controversy around Stein’s bid.
It cited a heckler in New York who asked her feelings about being “personally responsible for actually bringing Donald Trump into power.”
It also anonymously quoted one of Stein’s adult children as saying, “For her political activities, she does not have the support of her family.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., blistered Stein in a social media video, saying, “All you do is show up once every four years to speak to people who are justifiably pissed off. . . . You’re not serious. It does not read as authentic, it reads as predatory.”
Left-wing MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell claimed on Monday that Trump rose to power “thanks to the Electoral College and Jill Stein,” before playing a Harris ad in which Stein’s face transitions into Trump’s – and another Democratic ad highlighting recent Trump praise of Stein due to her pulling votes from Democrats.
O’Donnell also reprimanded a Stein volunteer in Michigan who previously voted for Clinton and Biden but had enough of the proverbial binary choice in elections.
The Times separately reported that “Democratic operatives” have been trying to aid ballot access for far-right Constitution Party nominee Randall Terry, for reasons similar to Republicans who laud Stein.
Stein’s frequent refrain in support of her third-party bid has long been: “Forget the lesser evil, fight for the greater good.”
Stein told Fox News Digital on Thursday that Democrats’ “smear campaign is the best publicity we could ask for.”
“Their attack dogs have been opening doors for us since DNC chair Jamie Harrison came for us on Twitter, AOC lectured us on Instagram, Democratic operative Angela Rye tried to ambush us on The Breakfast Club, and just the other day the DNC was exposed for attempting to dictate to [talk show host] Tavis Smiley a set of attack questions they wanted him to challenge me with on his show.”
Stein said that Harris could win back her base by pledging to “end the genocide with a weapons embargo to Israel now.”
“But apparently she prefers killing Palestinian children to winning the election. No amount of lies and smears will distract from the simple truth that Americans revile this bipartisan genocide,” Stein said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the DNC for comment but did not hear back by press time.
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