RFK Jr. is forced to suspend his presidential run and supports Donald Trump before appearing with Trump at his rally

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has withdrawn his independent campaign for president on Friday, and also endorsed Donald Trump.

PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his independent campaign for the White House and endorsed Donald Trump on Friday, a late-stage shakeup of the race that could give the former president a modest boost from Kennedy’s supporters.

After a few hours, Kennedy joined Trump onstage at an Arizona rally, at which the crowd erupted in “Bobby!” cheers.

Kennedy stated that his own polls have shown that his participation in the race could hurt Trump as well as help Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, even though the latest polls from the public don’t give an exact indication of whether Kennedy is having a significant influence on the support of any major-party contender.

Kennedy mentioned his right to free speech, the war of Ukraine as well as “a war on our children” as the main reasons why he wanted to get his name removed from the ballots in states that have battleground states.

“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 stated at the event in Phoenix.

But he also made it clear that he wouldn’t be officially resigning his campaign and that his supporters would remain behind his candidacy in a majority of states in which they’re not likely to alter the result. Kennedy has taken steps to withdraw his candidacy in at most two states this month, Arizona as well as Pennsylvania, however, officials from the election contests in Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin stated that it would be too late to remove his name from the ballot, even though the candidate wants to.

Kennedy stated that his actions were a result of conversations with Trump in recent weeks. Kennedy described their alliance in the context of “a unity party,” which will “allow us to disagree publicly and privately and seriously.” Kennedy suggested Trump offered him a job should his return in Trump’s White House, but neither Kennedy or Trump provided details.

Kennedy’s running co-host, Nicole Shanahan, this week pondered the possibility that Kennedy might be a part of Trump’s Administration as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

The announcement sparked days of speculation and came with an abundance of confusion and contradictory statements from Kennedy’s advisers and allies the emblematic cape of a shrewd campaign.

Just prior to the speech that he gave in Phoenix the campaign of his opponent had announced in an Pennsylvania court document that he would be supporting Trump as the presidency. But a spokesperson for Kennedy stated that the court document was an error as the attorney who drafted the document said he would correct the mistake. Kennedy was on stage a few minutes after, and vented his frustrations regarding Trump, the Democratic Party, the news media and other institutions of the political world, and praised Trump. He spoke for more than 20 minutes, before declaring explicit that he was supporting Trump.

Kennedy was later seen with Trump onstage during the rally hosted by Turning Point Action in Glendale the place where his campaign claimed it would be attended with “a special guest.”

Kennedy was greeted with thundering applause as he took to the podium to Foo Fighters and an pyrotechnics show following his introduction to the world by Trump in the capacity of “a man who has been an incredible champion for so many of these values that we all share.”

“We are both in this to do what’s right for the country,” Trump stated, congratulating Kennedy to have “raised critical issues that have been too long ignored in this country.”

With Kennedy sitting nearby, Trump invoked his slain uncle and father, John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, telling the crowd “that they are looking down right now and they are very, very proud.”

He stated that, if it is his fall election and is elected president, he will set up an independent presidential commission for assassination that will release all documents pertaining to John Kennedy. Kennedy’s assassination.

And he reiterated his commitment to create a panelthat is “working with Bobby” -to study the rise the prevalence of health issues as well as children’s illnesses, including autism, autoimmune disorders as well as obesity and infertility.

In the past, people might have considered it unimaginable that a member of the most famous clan in Democratic politics would collaborate alongside Trump to keep an actual Democrat away from Trump’s White House. Even in recent times, Kennedy has accused Trump of defying his followers and Trump has attacked Kennedy for being “the most radical left candidate in the race.”

Five Kennedy’s relatives released a statement on Friday, saying that the support he has for Trump “a sad ending to a sad story” and reiterated that they support Harris.

“Our brother Bobby’s decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear,” said the statement, which is what his sibling Kerry Kennedy posted on the website X.

Kennedy Jr. acknowledged his decision to support Trump was causing tension in his family. Kennedy Jr. is the husband of actor Cheryl Hines, who wrote on X she was deeply grateful for his decision to pull out, but she did not discuss his decision to endorse Trump endorsement.

“This decision is agonizing for me because of the difficulties it causes my wife and my children and my friends,” Kennedy declared. “But I am confident that this is the thing I’m supposed to be doing. This certainty provides me with inner peace, even during hurricanes.”

In the form of a statement, Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon made contact with Kennedy’s supporters, who find themselves “tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward” and stated she believed Harris was determined to win their support.

In Kennedy’s Phoenix event the 38 year old Casey Westerman said she trusted Kennedy’s judgement and had thought of voting on his behalf, however she she would be a supporter of Trump in the event that Kennedy had endorsed Trump.

“My decision would really be based on who he thinks is best suited to run this country,” said Westerman who wore an “Kennedy 2024” trucker hat and has voted for Trump in the two most recent presidential elections.

Kennedy was first a candidate in the presidential race in 2024 an Democrat however he resigned from the party last year to contest the race independently. He created a surprisingly strong base for a third party bid that was fueled by anti-establishment supporters and those who are skeptical of vaccines, who have been following his anti-vaccine campaign since the COVID-19 epidemic. However, he’s been battling strained finances for his campaign and a growing number of legal challenges.

At Trump’s inauguration held in Las Vegas, Alida Roberts 49, who is Kennedy’s wife she said Kennedy’s support for Trump was a clear indication of the situation of the Democratic Party.

“It says that he doesn’t trust what’s going on, that it’s not the party he grew up in,” Roberts declared.

Roberts who twice voted for Trump stated that she was thrilled and relieved at the news of Trump’s endorsement since she had previously been “teeter-tottering” between the two candidates.

Latest polls show Kennedy’s support hovering in the mid-single-digits and it’s not certain whether he’d garner even this in a general election.

There’s evidence to suggest that Kennedy’s continued presence in the race could harm Trump much more so than Harris. According to a July AP/NORC survey, Republicans were significantly more likely than Democrats to have a positive opinion of Kennedy. People with positive views of Kennedy were more likely to be able to have a positive opinion of Trump (52 percent) over Harris (37 percent).

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Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Ali Swenson in New York, Rio Yamat in Las Vegas, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pa., Meg Kinnard in Chicago and Linley Sanders in Washington were all part of this report.

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