Kennedy expected to end his campaign Friday, in talks to endorse Trump

By CNN

Published August 21, 2024 12:44 PM

CNN

By Kristen Holmes, Aaron Pellish and Alayna Treene, CNN

(CNN) — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to suspend his campaign on Friday at an event in Arizona, two sources familiar with the plans told CNN.

There are current talks between Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s team and Kennedy’s orbit for the independent candidate to endorse the former president and appear at Trump’s Phoenix-area rally that same night, the source said.

CNN has reached out to the Kennedy campaign for comment.

Kennedy’s campaign announced earlier Wednesday that he will make a speech in Phoenix, saying he would “address the nation” Friday morning, but it did not share details of what he will be speaking about.

Kennedy’s speech will come days after his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, said in a podcast interview on Tuesday that the campaign is considering whether to “join forces” with Trump to prevent the “risk” of Vice President Kamala Harris winning the election.

The Republican nominee on Tuesday expressed openness to Kennedy playing a role in a future administration should he drop out and offer his endorsement.

“He’s a brilliant guy. He’s a very smart guy. I’ve known him for a very long time,” Trump told CNN’s Kristen Holmes. “I didn’t know he was thinking about getting out, but if he is thinking about getting out, certainly I’d be open to it.”

Discussions between Trump allies and advisers and Kennedy’s team began in the lead up to the Republican National Convention in July, prior to a leaked phone call between the former president and Kennedy that same month, a source familiar with the conversations told CNN.

Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., had been pushing his father and the Trump campaign for weeks about finding a way to encourage Kennedy to end his campaign, the source said.

In addition to Trump Jr., former Fox News host Tucker Carlson — who is close to Kennedy — as well as businessman Omeed Malik, a Trump donor who is close to both Trump Jr. and Carlson and has previously donated to RFK Jr.’s campaign, have been helping facilitate the talks.

Many of the conversations focused on whether or not having Kennedy’s endorsement would benefit Trump. However, once President Joe Biden ended his campaign in late July and it became clear that Vice President Kamala Harris would likely top the Democratic ticket, many more people in Trump’s orbit, including several of his most senior advisers, believed that having Kennedy’s support would be an asset, two people close to the talks said.

Kennedy and Trump have grown warmer toward each other in recent months after initial attacks earlier in the campaign. A prominent vaccine skeptic, Kennedy has frequently criticized Trump for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and his implementation of Operation Warp Speed, the program to accelerate the manufacturing of Covid vaccines. Trump previously labeled Kennedy a member of the “radical left” and attacked Kennedy for his environmental activism.

But in July, Trump and Kennedy spoke on the phone in the days after Trump was shot in an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The day after the call, Kennedy and Trump met in person in Milwaukee on the first day of the Republican National Convention.

In those conversations, the candidates first discussed the possibility of Kennedy dropping out of the race and endorsing Trump in exchange for a role in his administration. Following those conversations, Kennedy said he would not drop out of the race.

Earlier this month, Kennedy’s campaign approached Harris’ campaign about arranging a meeting to discuss endorsing her in exchange for a future role in her administration. That meeting never materialized.

The speech on Friday will be the Kennedy campaign’s first public event since early July. It comes as Kennedy has struggled to gain traction since Harris took over the top of the Democratic ticket. A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted earlier this month found Harris at 47% support, Trump at 44% and Kennedy at 5%. The campaign is also quickly burning through funds as it seeks to gain ballot access across the country. Campaign finance reports from July show Kennedy’s campaign held just $3.9 million on hand while reporting nearly $3.5 million in outstanding debts.

The independent campaign has provoked concern from both Democrats and Republicans about Kennedy’s potential impact on the presidential race, where narrow margins in a handful of battleground states could determine the winner. While it’s unclear whether Kennedy has attracted more support from voters who backed President Joe Biden or Trump in 2020, the Kennedy campaign has said in recent days they believe they draw more support from voters who have previously backed Trump.

In Arizona, where Friday’s event will take place, Kennedy’s popularity could prove critical in a state that was decided by less than 11,000 votes in the 2020 presidential election. A New York Times/Siena College poll of registered voters in Arizona released earlier this month showed Kennedy earning 6% support, trailing behind Harris at 45% and Trump at 42%.

On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Arizona Secretary of State’s office confirmed to CNN that Kennedy has qualified for the ballot in the state. Kennedy is on the ballot in 21 states, making him eligible to receive 257 electoral votes.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.