Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed former President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon, concluding his turbulent independent presidential campaign with a lengthy speech.
Kennedy’s campaign initially confirmed the endorsement in a Pennsylvania court filing before he took the stage in Battleground Arizona.
Trump is scheduled to host his own event later that day in nearby Glendale, where Kennedy is expected to speak, according to three sources familiar with the plans, marking the end of weeks of negotiations.
Kennedy, who first rose to prominence as an environmental lawyer and later became a prominent anti-vaccine advocate, began his speech by criticizing the Democratic Party for “abandoning democracy,” rebuking his “naysayers” who doubted his campaign’s viability, and accusing both the media and Democrats of conspiring to undermine his competitiveness. Finally, he made the endorsement official.
“Many months ago, I promised the American people I would withdraw from the race if I became a spoiler. … In my heart, I no longer believe I have a realistic path to electoral victory,” he said.
Positioning both Trump and himself as victims of the Democrats’ “ongoing legal warfare,” he criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for failing to secure “a single delegate” during her 2020 campaign.
READ ALSO: Trump Leads by More Than 40% Over Harris in New Poll
He accused her of avoiding the press and abandoning a policy platform in favor of a campaign solely focused on opposing Trump.
Kennedy also likened Biden’s and Harris’ control over the Democratic Party to the autocratic rule of Russia under President Vladimir Putin.
By contrast, Kennedy made it clear that in Trump, he sees a partner—aand a fellow victim.
“These are the principled causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent, and now to throw my support to President Trump.
The causes were free speech, the war in Ukraine, and the war on our children,” he said.
“One of the two candidates has adopted these issues as his own to the point where he has asked to enlist me in his administration. I’m speaking, of course, of Donald Trump.”
In a statement, Democratic National Committee senior adviser Mary Beth Cahill remarked, “Donald Trump isn’t gaining an endorsement that will bolster his support; he’s inheriting the baggage of a failed fringe candidate. Good riddance.”
Behind the Scenes Kennedy’s decision to endorse Trump followed weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations. According to someone familiar with the discussions, Donald Trump Jr. had been working for six months to secure Kennedy’s endorsement for his father.
Another source mentioned that Trump Jr. had long believed Kennedy’s presence in the race was detrimental to the GOP campaign.
For a while, polling offered mixed signals on the impact of Kennedy’s candidacy. However, the landscape shifted dramatically after Harris became the Democratic presidential candidate, altering the polling dynamics.
The Trump campaign acknowledged this shift in a memo from pollster Tony Fabrizio, sent to reporters after Kennedy’s announcement. The memo argued that their polling indicates Kennedy’s support “breaks for President Trump” in every key state.
Follow the Parallel Facts channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCQSAoHgZWiDjR3Kn2E
