Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent U.S. presidential candidate with a famous political pedigree but whose bid was overshadowed by a brain worm and a dead bear, has announced the suspension of his campaign, endorsing the Republican Party's nominee, former President Donald Trump.
"In my heart, I no longer believe I have a realistic path to an electoral victory," Kennedy told a group of reporters and supporters in Phoenix. "I am not terminating my campaign. I am simply suspending it," he added, explaining he did not want to help Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party nominee.
In 10 states where he could be a spoiler, Kennedy said he would have his name removed, but it would stay on the ballot in others where he said supporters could safely vote for him without risk of aiding the Democrats.
Kennedy on Thursday filed paperwork withdrawing from the ballot in Arizona, one of the swing states likely to determine the outcome of November's presidential election.
"My joining the Trump campaign will be a difficult sacrifice," Kennedy said in Phoenix, adding it would be worthwhile if he gets a chance in a Republican administration to end what he contends is a wave of chronic diseases among America's children.
"In an honest system, I believe I would have won the election," said Kennedy, alleging that the mainstream media censored him while the Democratic Party thwarted his access to the ballot in numerous states.
He said Trump's promise to negotiate an end to Russia's war on Ukraine "alone would justify my support for his campaign."
Kennedy stepped off the podium after 50 minutes, taking no questions.
He appeared later in the day at a Trump rally in neighboring Glendale.
"For the past 16 months, Bobby has run an extraordinary campaign for president of the United States," said Trump. "I know because he also went after me a couple of times."
Famous name
A 70-year-old environmental lawyer, Kennedy labeled himself a political outsider despite his lineage. He entered the presidential race as a longshot Democratic Party candidate before dropping that bid last October and announcing he would mount an independent campaign.
With a surname almost synonymous with the Democratic Party (he is the nephew of President John. F. Kennedy and son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, both of whom were assassinated in the 1960s), RFK Jr. began his campaign polling in the low double digits in some states.
Trump, at Friday evening’s political event, said if he gets back in the White House, he will appoint an independent commission on assassination attempts and release all government documents related to the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy.
Siblings of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are decrying their brother’s endorsement of Trump.
Our brother Bobby’s decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad end to a sad story," Kerry Kennedy wrote in a statement along with three of her sisters and two of her brothers.
The extended Kennedy family had earlier expressed embarrassment and denounced their relative's campaign after he dropped out of the Democratic Party, choosing instead to support the reelection of President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the race and was replaced by Harris last month.
The shakeup in the Democrats' lineup further eroded support for Kennedy, who had benefited from those unenthused about a rematch of the 2020 election between Biden and Trump.
"The more voters learned about RFK Jr. the less they liked him. Donald Trump isn't earning an endorsement that's going to help build support, he's inheriting the baggage of a failed fringe candidate. Good riddance," said Democratic National Committee senior adviser Mary Beth Cahill in a statement following Kennedy's announcement.
Fringe appeal
Kennedy, labeled a conspiracy theorist by his critics, appealed to some anti-establishment voters attracted by his contrarian foreign policy and long-standing campaign against vaccines. But he faced mainstream disdain and even ridicule.
In May, Kennedy said a "brain fog" he suffered a decade ago was caused by a parasitic worm that had eaten part of his brain.
Kennedy more recently was the target of late-night TV comedians and social media satire after he revealed that he had dumped a dead bear cub in New York City's Central Park in 2014 as a prank.
A magazine article in July alleged Kennedy had molested a family babysitter decades ago. Asked about the allegation on a podcast, he said he was "not a church boy" and had "many skeletons" in his closet.
"Third-party candidates often lose steam as the election approaches, but Kennedy's trajectory has been particularly ignominious," said Nate Silver, a statistician and prominent election forecaster, in a Substack posting on Thursday.
"In three-way polls against Biden and Trump, he initially polled at 10 or 11 percent, then gradually faded to 8 (save for a bounce just after Biden's awful debate). In the Trump-Harris matchup, though, he's dropped to about 4 percent."
Trump has offered to "enlist" him in a second administration, Kennedy said on Friday.
Trump, the previous day, acknowledged he had spoken with Kennedy several times but not recently.
Trump told CNN Tuesday that he would "be open" to Kennedy playing a part in his administration if Kennedy dropped his presidential bid and endorsed the Republican nominee.
Kennedy's running mate, Nicole Shanahan, suggested in an interview Tuesday that Kennedy would do "an incredible job" as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy has claimed that agencies under HHS, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, have been captured by corporate interests, making them predators on the American public.
"I love the idea of giving him some sort of role in some sort of major three-letter entity or whatever it may be and let him blow it up," the Republican nominee's son, Donald Trump Jr., told a conservative radio talk show on Wednesday.
'Spoiler' for MAGA?
Democratic National Committee adviser Ramsey Reid argued in a memo released Friday that Kennedy’s role from the beginning had been to serve as a "spoiler" who would help Trump by drawing votes away from the Democratic candidate.
"He was recruited into the race by MAGA Republicans like Steve Bannon, his candidacy was propped up by Trump's largest donor, and he parroted MAGA attacks on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris," Reid said.
On Thursday, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, some delegates looked forward to Kennedy’s withdrawal from the race.
Montana delegate Mary Jo O'Rourke, whose father worked for RFK Jr.'s father in the Justice Department, told VOA she is a devotee of the Kennedy family, but it is time for the former Democrat "to go home and enjoy the rest of his life."
Kennedy had initially been viewed as siphoning more votes from Biden than Trump, but recent polls indicated he was appearing to attract more voters who would otherwise be inclined to cast a ballot for the Republican nominee.
Of those who supported Kennedy in July, 4 in 10 shifted to Harris (compared with 2 in 10 who switched to Trump), according to Pew Research Center polling released last week.
Most voters, as the election day approaches, "go back to their parties. They're not looking for an independent candidate. They're looking to vote for one of the two likely winners," John Fortier, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told VOA.
In a tight election in the half dozen or so swing states that will tip the balance of the electoral vote count, the presence or absence of a third party or independent candidate on the ballot could determine the overall outcome.
The victor of the U.S. presidential race must win 270 electoral votes, with each state's allocation equal to the number of senators and representatives it has in the Congress. It is possible for a candidate to receive the most total votes but lose the electoral vote count and thus the presidency.
Kennedy told reporters on Friday he could still win if the Electoral College vote for Trump and Harris ends up tied at 269. In that case, members of the new Congress would select the president in early January.
Kim Lewis, Katherine Gypson in Chicago and Carolyn Presutti in Phoenix contributed to this story.
