On Friday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. officially endorsed President Donald Trump, sending shockwaves through crucial swing states and jeopardizing Vice President Kamala Harris’ electoral prospects. This endorsement follows Kennedy’s suspension of his own campaign, which he attributed to a significant shift in the national political conversation that his campaign had helped initiate.
“It’s with a sense of victory and not defeat, that I’m suspending my campaign activities,” Kennedy said during his speech, carried on social media. He highlighted his campaign’s achievements, including collecting over a million signatures and bringing critical issues such as chronic disease, free speech, and government corruption to the forefront of the national conversation.
Kennedy’s endorsement of Trump marks a critical juncture in the 2024 presidential race, as his influence is expected to sway many former supporters in his direction. “Thank you for a job well done,” Kennedy told his supporters. “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.”
“The Democrats were the party of government transparency and the champion of the environment. Our party was the bulwark against big money interests and corporate power. True to its name, it was the party of democracy. As you know, I left that party in October because it had departed so dramatically from the core values that I grew up with,” Kennedy said. “It had become the party of war, censorship, corruption, big pharma, big tech, and big money. By canceling the primary to conceal the cognitive decline of the sitting president.”
Political analysts indicate that Kennedy’s endorsement of Trump could dramatically shift the dynamics in battleground states where Harris had been gaining ground. Kennedy’s support is expected to help Trump consolidate a larger base, drawing in independents and disaffected Democrats. This development deals a significant blow to the Harris campaign, which had been relying on these crucial states to form a winning coalition in the upcoming election.
According to The Associated Press, in a Pennsylvania court filing earlier today, the Kennedy campaign first reportedly endorsed Trump for president. The campaign requested Kennedy’s removal from the Pennsylvania ballot. The speech comes just before Trump is set to hold a rally in the nearby city of Glendale. Trump’s campaign had hinted that he would be joined by “a special guest.”
On Wednesday, Kennedy revealed his intention to give a major speech this Friday in Phoenix, coinciding with former President Donald Trump’s scheduled rally in the same city. Kennedy’s campaign said he would speak at 2 p.m. ET, focusing on what his team describes as “the present historical moment and our path forward.”
Securing ballot access for Kennedy has proven challenging due to stringent state requirements for independent candidates, which typically involve gathering thousands of signatures or obtaining backing from a minor party. On Tuesday, Nicole Shanahan, Kennedy’s running mate, suggested two potential strategies: continuing their campaign as planned or possibly aligning with Trump to mitigate the risk of a Harris-Walz presidency.
“If we get over 5% of the vote, we actually establish ourselves as a party,” Shanahan said, pointing out the potential long-term benefits of remaining in the race. “There’s two options that we’re looking at. Or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump.”
In an NBC News interview on Wednesday, Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), revealed that there’s been “a lot of communication back and forth” between Kennedy and their campaign. “I haven’t spoken to RFK personally, but I know there’s been a lot of communication back and forth between RFK, between the campaign, between this campaign,” Vance explained.
“Look, our argument to RFK, and I’ll make it right now, because, of course, he hasn’t dropped out yet, is, look: If you want a Democratic Party that protected American workers and stood for strong borders, maybe disagreed with Republicans on things like tax policy, that party doesn’t exist anymore,” he added. “I know the president’s been working hard for that, but it’s completely separate from whether RFK gets a Cabinet position,” Vance continued. “It’s about welcoming a lot of those Democrats who feel abandoned by the party of Kamala Harris.”
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