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The 2024 US presidential race is heating up as former President Donald Trump has launched a series of attacks against independent candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr. Recent polling indicates that Kennedy’s anti-vaxxer stance is attracting support from potential Trump voters, causing concern for the former president.

Trump took to his Truth Social platform to falsely claim that Kennedy is a “Democratic plant” installed to help President Joe Biden win, and that his views on vaccines are “fake.” He warned Republican voters not to support Kennedy, accusing him of being “anti-gun”, an “extreme environmentalist”, an “open border advocate” and “anti-military.”

Polling from Quinnipiac, Marist, and NBC News shows that Kennedy’s campaign is taking votes away from Trump, with Kennedy increasing his support among independents while Trump’s numbers have decreased. In match-ups between Trump and Biden, Kennedy’s presence shifts the lead to Biden.

Kennedy, who has voiced opposition to gun control and supports looser environmental legislation, responded to Trump’s attacks by calling them “wild and inaccurate claims” and challenged the former president to a debate on stage.

Kennedy, a member of the famous Kennedy family, launched his presidential campaign last April as a Democrat before switching to an independent. The feud between Trump and Kennedy is expected to intensify as the 2024 election approaches.