Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears with Trump at rally after suspending Independent presidential campaign
Kennedy announced decision in Phoenix on Friday and confirmed support for Trump
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a surprise campaign appearance with former U.S. president Donald Trump on Friday, just hours after announcing he was "suspending" his presidential campaign as an Independent and putting his support behind the Republican presidential nominee.
Kennedy, 70, said he will remove his name from the ballot in "about 10"battleground states where he would be a spoiler for Trumpmeaning a candidate who cannot win but whose presence could help Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
He said his campaign is not "ending," and his name would still appear on the ballot in otherstates.
"I am not terminating my campaign. I am simply suspending it," he said during an appearance in Phoenix.
"My name will remain on the ballot in most states. If you live in a blue state, you can vote for me without harming or helping President Trump or Vice-President Harris. In red states, the same will apply. I encourage you to vote for me."
Sister calls move 'a betrayal' of Kennedy family's values
Hours before Kennedy's appearance alongside Trump at a rally in Glendale, Ariz., Trump's campaignteased that he would be joined by "a special guest" at his event.
Kennedy implied that his decision to support Trump would be alienating to his wife,Curb Your Enthusiasmstar Cheryl Hines, and to other members of his family.
Shortly after his announcement, RFK Jr.'s younger sister, Kerry, released a statement on behalf of his siblings herself, Kathleen, Courtney, Rory and Chris saying that they "believe in Harris and Walz."
I am sharing a personal statement that my family and I have made in response to my brothers announcement. pic.twitter.com/j7vTTabNYZ
—@KerryKennedyRFK"Our brother Bobby's decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear," the statement read. "It is a sad ending to a sad story."
The Harris-Walz campaign also reacted to Kennedy's announcement, appealing to his supporters: "For any American out there who is tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward, ours is a campaign for you."
Exit from battleground ballots favourable to Trump
Kennedy didn't explicitly endorse Trump or say that he'd be voting for him. But he affirmed his support for the former president and confirmed that the two met to discuss forming a "unity" party.
The arrangement would allow them to work together on the issues where they're aligned including chronic disease prevention and border security Kennedy said, while leaving room for public and private disagreements on policy issues.
Kennedy said he tried to have similar discussions with the Harris campaign but was ignored.
The Independent candidate's exit from battleground ballots could prove helpful to Trump. Data suggests that Kennedy had lost some support on the left after Biden dropped out.
In another development on Friday, Independent presidential candidate Cornel West lost a legal challenge in his bid to get on the ballot in Pennsylvania, which could end up benefiting Harris in the battleground state and negate any effects of a Kennedy withdrawal there.
An analysis by polling expert and statistician Nate Silver predictedthat a Kennedy exit wouldswing the polling averages by 0.6 points toward Trump and possibly even fewer given that Kennedy hasbeen polling less well in three-way matchups since Harris entered the race.
"You saw his numbers peak several months ago.They've continued to drop," said Harris campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon at a DNC panel earlier this week when asked about Kennedy's spoiler impact.
"I think that's similar to what we're seeing with Donald Trump. I really don't think it's going to interfere with the race too much."
But even a small difference matters in such a close race, saidGOP strategist Ford O'Connellin an interview with The Hillnews site.
"It's a very big deal, because we're talking about an election that will be decided by inches on the electoral map," he said.
Will help 'a little' but maybe not enough: GOP strategist
But Chip Felkel, a Republican strategist, told CBC News that RFK Jr.'s decision to support Trump would matter a lot more if Biden were still the Democratic candidate.
"It'll help a little, but I don't know if it'll help enough," Felkel said.
"If Harris can continue and not have any major screw-ups and have a good debate, I think she is in much better position to beat Trump than Biden would have ever been,even with Kennedy supporting Trump."
He added that Trump could turn his back on Kennedy if he found the alliance to be politically inconvenient.
"Everything changes in the political world," Felkel said. "I just don't know if anybody wants to take a risk of RFK Jr. as an ambassador for their campaign if they want to fully embrace him in that way."
David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, wrote on X that Kennedy's withdrawal from the race does not automatically mean that his name won't appear on ballots in statesin which the candidate wants to suspend his campaign.
"While RFKJr. may stop campaigning, whether his name remains on a state's ballot at this point is a state-by-state issue, and he and his campaign may have little control over it," said Becker.
Stalled campaign, ballot access issues
Kennedy, the son of former attorney general Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former president John F. Kennedy, had seen hiscampaign's momentum slip.
Kennedy Jr. first 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, fuelled in part by anti-establishment voters and vaccine skeptics who have followed his anti-vaccine work since the COVID-19 pandemic.
But he hadsince faced strained campaign finances and mounting legal challenges, including a recent ruling from a New York judge that he should not appear on the ballot in the state because he listed a "sham" address on nominating petitions.
Recent polls put Kennedy's support in the mid-single digits and there was 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 favourable view of Kennedy. As well, when given a second choice of candidate, Trump had an advantage of 15 percentage points amongKennedy supporters.
Earlier in life, Kennedy was an environmentalist and lawyer.
Running mate floats idea of Trump support
Last month, during the Republican National Convention, Kennedy's son posted and then quickly deleted a video showing a phone call between Kennedy and Trump, in which the former president appeared to try to talk Kennedy into siding with him.
Trump told CNN on Tuesday that he would "love" an endorsement from Kennedy, whom he called a "brilliant guy." He also said he would "certainly" be open to Kennedy playing a role in his administration if Kennedy droppedout and endorsedhim.
While Trump was buoyed after last month's Republican convention in Milwaukee, the Democrats have been energized by a change at the top of their ticket, when the party coalesced in supporting Vice-President Kamala Harris after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for a second term.
Democrats also hope the choice of running mate Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, will resonate as they seek to produce strong results in Midwestern states.
Nicole Shanahan, Kennedy Jr.'s running mate,also openly suggested on a podcast this week that his campaign might "join forces with Donald Trump." While she clarified that she wasnot personally in talks with Trump, she entertained the idea that Kennedy could join Trump's administration as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
"I think that Bobby in a role like that would be excellent," Shanahan said. "I fully support it. I have high hopes."
Under U.S. law, it's illegal for political candidates to directly or indirectly promise a position to someone in exchange for their support.
With files from CBC News, Jenna Benchetrit and Alexander Panetta
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