There’s a saying that politics makes strange bedfellows.
That appeared to be the case when Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a lifelong Democrat turned independent, endorsed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Kennedy recently explained the unusual pairing is altruistic — as a means to unify the GOP over him possibly getting a position in a Trump administration.
“We’re not talking about a particular position for me in the government,” Kennedy said to Chris Cuomo on “CUOMO.” “Our agreement is about unifying our party over certain objectives. This will allow me to continue to disagree with Trump.”
At one time Trump considered choosing Kennedy as his running mate, The New York Times reported.
The two spoke on the phone the night of the assassination attempt on Trump in July. That conversation was leaked by Bobby Kennedy III, Kennedy’s son, which led to the elder Kennedy apologizing for the leak, according to NewsNation.
The conversation included Trump attempting to get Kennedy to leave the race and support him — something that happened a month later.
According to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll that was released Sunday, 79% of those surveyed said Kennedy’s endorsement of Trump would not affect their decision when they hit the polls in November.
Even though he suspended his campaign, Kennedy may still influence the end result, per NewsNation.
Kennedy has been urging voters to support Trump rather than himself as he will still appear on some ballots, including the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan.
Kennedy said this turn of events is “ironic” given he fought for his name to be on those ballots when he was still a candidate.