RFK Jr. suspends presidential campaign and endorses Trump

(CNN) — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced at a news conference in Phoenix Friday that he is suspending his campaign and endorsing Trump.

“In my heart, I no longer believe that I have a realistic path of electoral victory in the face of this relentless, systematic censorship and media control. So I cannot, in good conscience, ask my staff and volunteers to keep working their long hours, or ask my donors to keep giving when I cannot honestly tell them that I have a real path to the White House,” he said.

Kennedy then said he will now “throw my support to President Trump.”

“Three great causes drove me to enter this race in the first place, primarily, and 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,” he said.

Kennedy insisted that he was not ending his campaign, but he noted that he will withdraw his name from appearing on ballots in swing states.

“My name will remain on the ballot in most states. If you live in a blue state, you can vote for me without harming — or helping — President Trump or Vice President Harris. In red states, the same will apply,” he said. “… But, in about 10 battleground states, where my presence would be a spoiler, I’m going to remove my name, and I’ve already started that process and urge voters not to vote for me.”

He also said that he believed he could end up in the White House if there is a contingent election, which would take place if neither of the major party candidates received the 270 votes necessary to win the election.

Kennedy later appeared as a “special guest” at Trump’s own event in Phoenix.

Kennedy running mate Nicole Shanahan praised him following his announcement and urged him to “save our children” in a social media post.

Shanahan, who was not in attendance at the Phoenix event, thanked Kennedy for running and called being a part of his campaign “one of my greatest honors.“

“You sparked a movement that millions of Americans had been longing for. It has been one of my greatest honors to run this race with you,” she said. “It has been awe-inspiring to witness the fearlessness you showed in the face of censorship, blatant lies about your character, and even threats against your life. Save our children, Bobby.”

Her statement comes after Kennedy said that Trump offered him a role in his administration and suggested the role would oversee a health care portfolio.

Kennedy said the offer came in two meetings with Trump, first in the days after the assassination attempt on the former president in July, and a second meeting weeks later.

“In those meetings, he suggested that we join forces as a unity party. We talked about Abraham Lincoln’s team of rivals, that arrangement would allow us to disagree publicly and privately and furiously, if need be on issues over which we differ, while working together on the existential issues upon which we are in concordance,” he said.

Kennedy’s announcement came shortly after a court filing in Pennsylvania said he was withdrawing from a ballot access challenge in the state “as a result of today’s endorsement” of former President Donald Trump.

Earlier Friday, Kennedy’s campaign said he hadn’t endorsed Trump, and the attorney who made the filing, Paul Rossi, said that he had “misstated” the candidate’s plans and then filed an amended notice.

But Kennedy’s support for Trump was clear Friday afternoon. He noted during his Friday remarks that the former president had asked to “enlist him in his administration.”

Dicky Barrett, a musician from Massachusetts and avid Kennedy backer, expressed some disappointment that Kennedy will not see his campaign all the way through to November.

“Is there another candidate that I feel remotely as excited about? No,” he said.

Casey Westerman, an Arizona-based Kennedy supporter who has previously voted for Trump, told CNN before Kennedy’s announcement she would happily vote for the former president again if Kennedy endorsed him.

“I mean, if he does, that would be fantastic,” she said.

Democratic National Committee senior adviser Mary Beth Cahill called Kennedy a “failed fringe candidate” and suggested his endorsement of Trump won’t benefit his campaign.

“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,” she said.

Members of Kennedy’s family who criticized his presidential campaign and endorsed Harris condemned Kennedy’s endorsement of Trump.

Kennedy’s siblings Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Courtney Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Chris Kennedy and Rory Kennedy said in a statement the endorsement marked “a sad ending to a sad story.”

“We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise and national pride. We believe in Harris and Walz. Our brother Bobby’s decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story,” the statement said.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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