RFK Jr. urges Catholics to vote for Trump in new ad

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the black sheep of America's most famous Catholic family, is urging his followers to support former President Trump in a new TV ad.

Kennedy, who first challenged President Biden as a Democratic candidate and then ran as an independent, spoke about his faith in the $250,000 ad space before explaining why he is now supporting Trump for president.

“President Trump promised bold action on our economy, our border, and our children's health. The Democratic Party has become the party of war, censorship, and corruption,” RFK Jr. says.

“Catholics may disagree on many issues, but we must find a way to love our children more than we hate each other. I hope you will join me in supporting Donald Trump. ”

Mr. Harris's disdain at the Catholic dinner is just the latest in a career filled with criticism of his faithful critics.

The ad, released by the conservative group Catholic Vote, will air in Pennsylvania before being widely released in battleground states, Semaphore reported. There are less than two weeks left until a historically close election in which Catholic voters will most likely decide who will next sit in the White House.

Brian Burch, president of Catholic Vote, criticized Harris' position on abortion, saying it violates Catholic social teaching. In a recent interview with NBC News, the vice president said he does not support any concessions on the abortion issue, including religious exemptions for faith-based health care workers who conscientiously object to the procedure.

“I think Kamala Harris is taking a huge gamble. She's calculated that she can build a winning coalition without people of faith,” Birch said in an interview on Fox News Digital on Wednesday. Ta. He acknowledged that Trump had “disappointed” some pro-life voters by opposing the federal ban on abortion, but added, “Trump's comments reflect the public's position and that I don't think there is a consensus.”

Semaphore said the collaboration with Kennedy came after months of dialogue with the Catholic Vote through its position on abortion. Birch told the outlet that Kennedy ultimately agreed that “we need to spend the same amount of money supporting women who choose to keep their children as we do supporting abortions.”

President Trump criticizes Catholics, Democrats drive religious votes away from party: 'Anti-Christian' party

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

The pro-Trump ad comes as the Trump campaign is aggressively appealing to Catholic voters. President Trump's running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, who converted to Catholicism, wrote an op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Thursday, accusing Harris of harboring “bias against Catholics.”

“Last week, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, one of Vice President Kamala Harris' top surrogates, mocked the sacrament of the Eucharist in a disgusting skit with a podcaster. Last Thursday, Ms. Harris He became the first presidential candidate to skip the annual “Smith Dinner,'' a fundraising event benefiting Catholic Charities,'' Vance wrote.

“While the former is an insult to Catholics, the latter is more of an insult to important Catholic cultural events, events that raise funds for social services that support people in need, such as the disabled, refugees, and immigrants. Both show a subtle disregard for Catholicism and the anti-political attitude of the Harris camp. ”

Some of the key battleground states this election cycle have huge numbers of Catholics. About 24% of Pennsylvania's population identifies as Catholic, a state touted as a state likely to swing the overall outcome of the election. Approximately 25% of Nevada's population identifies as Catholic. In Michigan, it's 18%. In Arizona, it's 21%. In Wisconsin, it's 25%. Other notable battleground states, such as Georgia and North Carolina, have smaller Catholic populations, with Catholics making up about 9% of the population in both states.

President Trump praises Catholic group's multi-million-strong anti-Harris movement that appeals to church members

Vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) wrote an op-ed accusing Vice President Harris of “bias” against Christians. (Screenshot from New York Times)

Catholics historically voted Democratic through the 1960s and early 1970s, when economic concerns along with crime and cultural issues came to the fore, most notably in 1972 when President Richard Nixon's campaign became a Democratic opponent. It was when he criticized Sen. George McGovern as a “pro-amnesty and pro-abortion candidate.” And acid. ”

Currently, Catholic voters are evenly divided between the two parties, and the party with a majority usually wins the White House.

President Biden, the second Catholic president in U.S. history (after John F. Kennedy), won the Catholic vote in 2020 by about 5 points over Trump. In 2016, Trump won 52% of the Catholic vote, compared to 44% for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Former President Barack Obama won the Catholic vote in both 2008 and 2012, and former President George W. Bush also defeated John Kerry in the 2004 election, according to Pew Research data.

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The exception to this rule was in 2000, when former Vice President Al Gore won the Catholic vote by two points over Bush, even though he lost the presidential election overall.

Harris' campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this report.