'Incredible': CNN host stunned at brazen GOP-backed robocall scheme boosting Jill Stein
A CNN anchor was stunned by Republican-backed robocalls urging voters in Michigan and Wisconsin to back Jill Stein for president in a scheme ultimately designed to siphon votes away from Vice President Kamala Harris in a razor-thin race.
In audio obtained by CNN's KFILE, a voice claiming to be Jennifer with Badger Values tells voters there's "only one candidate for president who will fight for our planet, support a real Green New Deal and ban fracking. And it's not Kamala Harris, it's Jill Stein."
Polls have Stein at about 1-2% of the vote in Michigan and Wisconsin, anchor Erin Burnett told viewers on her show "OutFront" on Wednesday evening — enough that could tilt the race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Andrew Kaczynski, senior editor of KFILE, told Burnett the GOP is sounding thousands of robocalls to try to "peel off votes from Kamala Harris, trying to boost Jill Stein." They're attacking her evolving stances on energy policy, such as fracking, he said.
The calls also attack the Biden administration's stance on Israel, he said.
In a second robocall from Badger Values PAC, a female voice sad there is only "one candidate who recognizes the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and it's not Kamala Harris. It is Jill Stein."
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The ad accused Harris of pledging to stand with Israel "while they continue the slaughter in Gaza" and said, "if you agree that we need to work for a free Palestine and peace in the Middle East, please vote for Jill Stein."
Kaczynski said the group has spent more than $1 million on the ads — in the last 11 days, including nearly $400,000 in support of Stein.
"I mean it's incredible," Burnett said, stunned by the amounts. She noted Stein isn't involved in the effort, even as she stands to benefit from it.
Kaczynski said the practice is not outlawed.
"This is totally legal," he said, noting what's "interesting about this effort" is that the group is also sending calls urging other voters to cast ballots for Trump.
"They're not even doing the whole 'pretend' thing that we sometimes see," he said. This includes sending pro-Trump calls to voters of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and reminding them he has endorsed Trump.
Watch the clip below or at this link.