Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Suspends Campaign, Reveals Who He'll Support

On Friday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a major announcement from Phoenix, Ariz., declaring his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race and announcing his support for Trump. 

“I’ve made the heart-wrenching decision to suspend my campaign and to support President Trump," he said in a live video on X. 

Kennedy began his speech by blasting the Democratic Party for becoming so radical and for embracing authoritarianism, censorship, colonialism, imperialism, and unjust wars. "I left that party in October because it had departed so dramatically on the core values that I grew up with. It had become the party of war, censorship, corruption, Big Pharma, Big Tech, Big Ag, and Big Money."

"In an honest system, I would have won the election," Kennedy said before adding that democracy "has become little more than a slogan for our institutions, our media, and... our Democratic Party."

Related: Rob Schneider Endorses Trump, Urges Fellow RFK Jr. Supporters to Do the Same

"How did the Democratic Party choose a candidate that has never done an interview or debate during the entire election cycle?" Kennedy asked. "We know the answer: They did it by weaponizing the government agencies. They did it by abandoning democracy. They did it by suing the opposition and by disenfranchising American voters. What most alarms me isn't how the Democratic Party conducts its internal affairs or runs its candidates. What alarms me is the resort to censorship and media control and the weaponization of the federal agencies."

Kennedy announced that he's removing his name from the ballot in battleground states where he would be a spoiler and help the radical Democrats win. 

"Many months ago, I promised the American people that I would withdraw from the race if I became a spoiler... In my heart, I no longer believe that I have a realistic path to electoral victory in the face of this relentless, systematic censorship and media control." 

Kennedy said he wants to spend his remaining years fighting the chronic disease epidemic. "President Trump has told me that he wants this to be his legacy," he said, adding that he believes Trump. He acknowledged that it would be difficult for Democrats to rally around Trump but urged them to do so for the good of America's children. Kennedy is expected to appear with Trump at a rally in Glendale, Ariz., this afternoon. 

Kennedy had said in a court filing in Pennsylvania that he was removing himself from the ballot there and endorsing Trump.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign said in a Pennsylvania court filing Friday that he’s endorsing Donald Trump for president.

The campaign also requested that he be removed from the Pennsylvania ballot, though it wasn’t immediately clear that he was officially dropping out of the race. It came a day after he sought to be removed from Arizona’s ballot. He is running as an independent.

Rumors circulated for weeks that Kennedy was in talks with both the Trump and Harris campaigns about possibly dropping out and endorsing one of them. Earlier this week, his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, suggested they were considering leaving the race and backing Trump. Then, on Wednesday, the campaign announced that Kennedy would address the nation on Friday, the day after the Democratic National Convention.

Kennedy’s exit could be a game-changer for Trump. Before Biden left the race, Kennedy was polling around 9% nationally, attracting some Republican voters despite his support mostly leaning toward Biden. Though his support has since waned, a Trump-Kennedy alliance could provide a crucial edge in a close race.

Trump is taking an initial 40% of RFK voters when asked who they would vote for if he wasn't on the ballot.

Harris is taking about a quarter and the others consider not voting.

When endorsed by RFK, support for Trump increases to just over 6 in 10.

— Rich Baris The People's Pundit (@Peoples_Pundit) August 22, 2024