Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he’s suspending his presidential bid and backing Donald Trump
PHOENIX — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his independent campaign for the White House and endorsed Republican nominee Donald Trump on Friday, a late-stage shakeup of the race that could give the former president a modest boost from Kennedy’s supporters.
Hours later, Kennedy joined Trump onstage at an Arizona rally, where the crowd burst into “Bobby!” cheers.
Kennedy said his internal polls showed his presence in the race would hurt Trump and help Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, though recent public polls don’t provide a clear indication that he had an outsize impact on support for either major-party candidate.
Ross D. Franklin, Associated Press
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, waves to the crowd Friday as Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Glendale, Ariz.
Kennedy cited free speech, the war in Ukraine and “a war on our children” as among the reasons he would try to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states.
“These are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent, and now to throw my support to President Trump,” Kennedy said at his own event in Phoenix.
However, he made clear that he wasn’t formally ending his bid and said his supporters could continue to back him in the majority of states where they are unlikely to sway the outcome.
Kennedy took steps to withdraw his candidacy in at least two states this week, Arizona and Pennsylvania, but election officials in the battlegrounds Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin said it would be too late to take his name off the ballot.
Darryl Webb, Associated Press
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces he is suspending his presidential campaign Friday at a news conference in Phoenix.
Kennedy said his actions followed conversations with Trump over the past few weeks. He cast their alliance as “a unity party” that would “allow us to disagree publicly and privately and seriously.”
Kennedy suggested Trump offered him a job if he returns to the White House, but neither he nor Trump offered details.
Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, this week entertained the idea that Kennedy could join Trump’s administration as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The announcement ended days of speculation and landed with heaps of confusion and contradictions from Kennedy’s aides and allies, an emblematic cap for a quixotic campaign.
Darryl Webb, Associated Press
People watch on a monitor Friday as independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces he is suspending his presidential campaign at a news conference in Phoenix.
Shortly before his speech in Phoenix, his campaign said in a Pennsylvania court filing that he would endorse Trump for president. However, a spokesperson for Kennedy said the court filing was made in error and the lawyer who wrote it said he’d correct it.
Kennedy took the stage moments later, aired his grievances with the Democratic Party, the news media and political institutions, and extolled Trump. He spoke for nearly 20 minutes before he said explicitly that he endorsed Trump.
Kennedy later joined Trump onstage to thundering applause at a rally co-hosted by Turning Point Action in Glendale, where Trump’s campaign teased he would be joined by “a special guest.”
Trump introduced him as “a man who has been an incredible champion for so many of these values that we all share.”
“We are both in this to do what’s right for the country,” Trump said, later commending Kennedy for having “raised critical issues that have been too long ignored in this country.”
Evan Vucci, Associated Press
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shakes hands Friday with Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz.
With Kennedy standing nearby, Trump invoked his slain uncle and father, John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, saying he knows “that they are looking down right now and they are very, very proud.”
He said if he wins this fall, he will establish a new independent presidential commission on assassination attempts that will release all remaining documents related to John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
He also repeated his pledge to establish a panel — “working with Bobby” — to investigate the increase in chronic health conditions and childhood diseases, including autoimmune disorders, autism, obesity and infertility.
A year ago, some would have thought it inconceivable that a member of arguably the most storied family in Democratic politics would work with Trump to keep a Democrat out of the White House. In recent months, Kennedy accused Trump of betraying his followers, while Trump criticized Kennedy as “the most radical left candidate in the race.”
Five of Kennedy’s family members issued a statement Friday calling his support for Trump “a sad ending to a sad story” and reiterating their support for Harris.
“Our brother Bobby’s decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear,” read the statement, which his sister Kerry Kennedy posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Julia Nikhinson, Associated Press
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump poses for a photo Friday at a campaign event at ll Toro E La Capra in Las Vegas. Second from right is restaurant owner Javier Barajas.
Kennedy Jr. acknowledged his decision to endorse Trump caused tension with his family. He is married to actor Cheryl Hines, who wrote on X that she deeply respects her husband’s decision to drop out but did not address the Trump endorsement.
In a statement, Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon reached out to Kennedy’s supporters who are “tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward” and said that Harris wants to earn their backing.
Kennedy entered the 2024 presidential race as a Democrat but left the party last fall to run as an independent. He built an unusually strong base for a third-party bid, fueled in part by anti-establishment voters and vaccine skeptics who have followed his anti-vaccine work since the COVID-19 pandemic. He since faced strained campaign finances and mounting legal challenges.
Recent polls put Kennedy’s support in the mid-single digits, and it’s unclear if he’d get even that in a general election.
There’s some evidence that Kennedy’s staying in the race would hurt Trump more than Harris. According to a July AP-NORC poll, Republicans were significantly more likely than Democrats to have a favorable view of Kennedy. Those with a positive impression of Kennedy were significantly more likely to also have a favorable view of Trump, 52%, than Harris, 37%.
