RFK Jr. vows to win New York ballot battle

The day after a judge ruled his name should be removed from the New York state ballot, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he had filed his appeal, vowing to win the court case -- and potentially even the election.  

But during an interview with NBC New York Tuesday, RFK Jr. also said he would consider negotiating his exit from the race if one of his rivals was willing to adopt some of his signature issues and talk about stopping the vitriol.

"I'll listen to any proposal," RFK Jr. said, when asked whether he was willing to cut a deal to leave the race.  "Our objectives are very clear. I want to end the addiction to war. I want to end the chronic childhood disease epidemic and try to rebuild the American middle class in this country. If somebody wants to talk about those issues, I would talk about my status in the race."

Since President Joe Biden dropped out, polls show Kennedy slipping to about five percent  - not enough to make the debate stage - but more than enough to sway a tight race.

While former President Donald Trump has reached out to the independent candidate, Kennedy told NBC New York that Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign has not reached out to him.

"I've reached out to them [the Harris campaign] repeatedly, and they have refused to even talk to me," Kennedy said. Recent polls suggest his presence in the race is hurting Trump more than Harris.

RFK Jr. added that nobody knows whether Harris is a better candidate than Biden, because she has not conducted any interviews, a talking point often raised by Trump.

"I don't know what she's going to say on any issue," he said.

"It's strange to me that someone who has been the Vice President of the U.S. doesn't feel confident enough about her record or her views that she's willing to have an unscripted encounter with American voters."

RFK Jr. declined to answer whether he is more aligned with Trump or Harris, but said "I think President Trump is talking more about unraveling the warfare state," adding that "the rhetoric is very, very good, but the execution has not been good in the past. That's what I would say."

Critics have long suspected Kennedy is acting as a spoiler for Trump. The environmentalist nephew of JFK said he misses the Democratic party of his youth, one he described as "the party of cops and firefighters and working people," seeming to suggest that Trump's party may be filling that role today.

Kennedy also criticized Democrat-aligned groups that have tried to block him from various state ballots, including the successful challenge in New York.  

A decade ago, he moved to California to be with his wife, actor Cheryl Hines. But he said he always maintained a part-time residence at a friend's place and always planned to return to the state he consider home. He insists the only requirement for residency in New York is an intent to return.

"There is no requirement in the law that I spend a single night there," RFK Jr. said.

But Monday, Judge Christina Ryba ruled that the residence listed on Kennedy's ballot petition - a room he claims to have rented in a Katonah house where he had no lease, never lived, and initially had paid no monthly rent - was "a sham" designed to further his political candidacy.

"I want to be a New Yorker. I've been a New Yorker for 60 years. My whole life is oriented around New York," Kennedy said. "I've never voted in any other state."

Kennedy says his defense in the ballot appeal will involve legal advice he says he received - to list New York as his official residence - because a presidential candidate must list the same address on all 50 ballots and some states define residency based on where a candidate votes.

Critics argue another reason why Kennedy may have listed New York as his residence is because his vice presidential running mate - philanthropist Nicole Shanahan - is from California. The rules prevent a state from awarding their delegates to a ticket if both the presidential and vice presidential nominees are from that same state.

Kennedy's campaign made some bizarre news in New York on Aug 5.

After receiving a media inquiry, Kennedy admitted he was the person who had dumped a dead baby bear in Central Park in 2014, faking a bicycle accident at the scene. Kennedy said the bear had actually been hit by another car on an upstate road and that he had initially intended to bring the animal home to eat, but lost track of time while the bear remained in the trunk of his car.