Donald Trump greets Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a campaign rally in Arizona, thanking his opponent for dropping out and supporting him.
Hours after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he was suspending his presidential campaign and pledging his support for Republican Donald Trump, the two politicians appeared together at a campaign rally in Glendale, Arizona, on August 23. Republican voters chanted “Bobby! Bobby!” as he took the stage, shaking hands and hugging Trump.
In his thank you to his former opponent, Mr. Trump mentioned Kennedy Jr.’s father, the late US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and his uncle, the late President John F. Kennedy.
“I think both of them are looking down from above and are incredibly proud of Bobby. I’m proud of Bobby too,” Trump said.
Former President Donald Trump (right) and Mr. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Glendale, Arizona, on August 23. Photo: AP
The former US president pledged that if elected, he would establish a “council of leading experts” to work with Mr. Kennedy Jr. to investigate children’s health issues. However, Trump did not mention the 70-year-old politician’s controversial anti-vaccine views.
Mr. Trump also promised to declassify and release “all remaining documents on the assassination of John F. Kennedy” if he returns to the White House. His administration will include a new commission to investigate assassination attempts on presidents, including the July 13 assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in which Mr. Trump was the target.
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Kennedy Jr. announced his candidacy in April 2023 as a Democrat, then switched to an independent. Voter interest in Kennedy Jr. has recently waned. An Ipsos poll earlier this month found that just 4% of voters nationwide supported him.
On August 23, he announced that he was “suspending” his campaign after realizing that he no longer had a chance to win this year’s election. He would withdraw his name from the ballots of 10 battleground states, while remaining on the ballots of the remaining states.
Former President Donald Trump (left) and Mr. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Glendale, Arizona, on August 23. Photo: AP
Kennedy Jr. said he supported former President Donald Trump because of his dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party, especially regarding free speech, the conflict in Ukraine and the “war on our children,” a phrase referring to the politician’s opposition to vaccines.
He said he had met Trump and the former president’s advisers many times and found that the two sides shared similar views on issues such as border security, free speech and ending conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. In a speech in Glendale, Kennedy Jr. asserted that Trump would help America “return to health” and believed that the former president would “protect the country from authoritarianism.”
Arizona and Ohio have agreed to remove Kennedy Jr. from the November ballot, while Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin have said they have passed the deadline to change their slate of candidates. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign is also working with Pennsylvania to remove his name from the ballot.
