An advocacy group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence is escalating its fight against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., this time with an ad that uses President Trump’s past criticisms of Kennedy to argue against his nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The 60-second ad from Advancing American Freedom, which was obtained first by The Hill, consists almost entirely of footage from a May video in which Trump lambasts Kennedy, then an independent White House candidate, as a “Democrat plant” and “radical liberal.”
“A lot of people think that Junior is a conservative. He’s not. He’s more liberal than anybody running on the Democrat side,” Trump says in the the ad.
The now-president goes on to call Kennedy “anti-gun,” “anti-military” and “anti-vet.”
“He’s a radical left Democrat,” Trump says in the ad. “I’d even take Biden over Junior because our country would last about a year or two longer than it would with Junior. It would collapse almost immediately.”
The ad concludes with the message: “President Trump was right the first time. Vote NO on RFK Jr.”
Advancing American Freedom is spending six-figures on the ad, which will circulate on digital platforms in the Washington, D.C., area. Kennedy is set to have his first of two confirmation hearings on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Kennedy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump posted the original video last May when Kennedy was polling in the single digits but was threatening to peel away some Republican voters in key swing states. Kennedy last August ended his independent White House bid and endorsed Trump, hitting the campaign trail for the Republican nominee in the weeks before Election Day.
Pence and his advocacy group have been among the most outspoken GOP critics of Kennedy’s nomination to serve as HHS secretary. Tuesday’s ad buy is in addition to last week’s six-figure spend from the Pence-founded group opposing RFK Jr.’s nomination.
Shortly after Trump announced Kennedy’s nomination, Pence in a statement urged senators to reject him because of his previous support for abortion.
The organization earlier this month sent a letter to senators urging them to vote against confirming Kennedy because of his previous support for abortion.
Kennedy has tried to reassure Republicans by saying his personal views don’t matter and that he will implement all of the anti-abortion policies from the first Trump administration.
His nomination has mostly come under scrutiny because of his anti-vaccine rhetoric; thousands of doctors and public health officials have signed onto letters expressing concerns about him.
But no Republican senators have publicly said they will oppose Kennedy, who can afford up to three GOP defections if all Democrats vote against his nomination.
“As I’ve said before with all these nominees, there’s a path, but I reserve judgment until after they go through the hearing process,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told CNN on Monday. “My job is to make sure they get that process. But, yeah, I think there’s a way for him to get there.”
