RFK Jr suspends campaign to 'throw support' behind Trump
1. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced that he is halting his independent campaign for the U.S. presidency and will endorse Donald Trump's candidacy. At 70 years old, Mr. Kennedy, who has been a Democrat for the majority of his life and is a member of the influential Kennedy family, stated that the principles that prompted him to leave the Democratic Party have now led him to support President Trump. He clarified that he will not withdraw entirely and intends to remain on the ballot in states where it will not disrupt the election. Trump expressed gratitude towards Mr. Kennedy, remarking, "We just received a wonderful endorsement from RFK Jr., and I will be discussing that. He is a fantastic individual, respected by all."
This decision effectively concludes a campaign that was largely driven by Mr. Kennedy's anti-vaccine stance and was marked by unusual narratives involving dead bears and brain worms. His polling numbers have significantly declined from earlier double-digit figures as funding and national attention waned. Family members of Kennedy, who had previously opposed his campaign, described his endorsement of Trump as a "betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad conclusion to a troubling narrative." Mr. Kennedy noted that Trump's claim of being able to resolve the Ukraine conflict through negotiations with Russia "alone justifies my support for his campaign."
He acknowledged that while there are numerous issues on which they differ significantly, they share common ground on several key matters. Mr. Kennedy indicated he would withdraw his name from the ballot in ten states where his candidacy could act as a "spoiler" for Trump. He explained that he initially launched his campaign "as a Democrat, the party of my father, my uncle... the champions of the Constitution," but left in October to run as an independent because "it had become the party of war, censorship, corruption, big pharma, big tech, big money." He attributed his decision to suspend his campaign to the media and his former party, stating, "In my heart, I no longer believe I have a realistic path to victory in the face of systematic censorship." Prior to President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race, Mr. Kennedy's polling hovered around 1%.
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