Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during a speech on Friday that he will suspend his campaign and endorse former President Donald Trump in states where he is not on the ballot.
Kennedy’s attorney submitted court filings Friday prior to his speech addressing the nation about his “path forward” in which he announced he will suspend his campaign and came out in support for the Republican frontrunner. Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, also alluded to the possibility that Kennedy would “join forces” with the Republican nominee on Wednesday.
“Three great causes drove me to enter this race in the first place, primarily, and 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 during the address in Phoenix, Arizona.
“In my heart, I no longer believe I have a realistic path to an electoral victory,” Kennedy said. “I am not terminating my campaign. I am simply suspending it.”
“There’s two options that we’re looking at and one is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and Walz presidency because we draw votes from Trump, we draw somehow more votes from Trump,” Shanahan told Tom Bilyeu, host of the “Impact Theory” podcast, on Tuesday. “Or we walk away right now and join forces with … Donald Trump and you know, we walk away from that and explain to our base why we’re making this decision.”
Trump responded on Thursday to circulating reports about Kennedy’s withdrawal and potential endorsement, saying that he “would be honored” to gain the independent candidate’s support. Trump remarked on Kennedy’s character, saying that his “heart is in the right place,” while also recalling that the Democratic Party treated him “very badly” by barring him from debates and imposing rules that advantaged Biden.
“He’s a – as you know, he is a little different kind of a guy, very smart guy, a very good person. If he endorsed me, I would be honored by it, I would be very honored by it,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt, Lawrence Jones, Brian Kilmeade and guest host Will Cain on Thursday. “He really has his heart in the right place, he is a respected person. Women love some of his policies and I guess some people don’t like some of his policies. But, overall, I thought the Democrats, he was a Democrat, I don’t know what he is right now, but he was a Democrat, they treated him very badly.”
Shanahan also called out Democrats for their treatment of Kennedy’s candidacy in a post on X from Thursday.
“When I point out what the Democratic Party and their super PACs have done to sabotage our campaign, their response is always, ‘but Trump is worse,’” Shanahan said in the post. “Here’s an idea: stop suing us. Let us debate. Quit rigging the media and the polls. It’s a simple formula, people—get with it.”
My old Dem buddies have been flooding me with frantic calls, texts, and emails. Unlike Ro, I wouldn’t dream of airing those private conversations publicly, but the message is clear: they’re terrified of the idea of our movement joining forces with Donald Trump. When I point out…
— Nicole Shanahan (@NicoleShanahan) August 22, 2024
Kennedy announced he would be continuing to run as an independent in October, criticizing the Democratic Party for impeding his candidacy. Kennedy also differentiated himself from party-line Democrats over his opinion on censorship, vaccine mandates, illegal immigration and the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.
After Biden bowed out of the race in July and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, Kennedy’s polling numbers plummeted.
Prior to Biden’s withdrawal, multiple polls showed Kennedy with double-digit support. A Forbes/HarrisX poll from June put Kennedy at 16%, with Trump leading Biden by 5 points, drawing 41% and 36%, respectively.
Kennedy’s support dropped to as low as 2% as of early August, according to an Economist/YouGov poll. Since Democrats swapped the top of the ticket, Harris has gained a two point edge over Trump with the candidates polling at 45% and 43%, respectively, according to the poll.
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