MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

RFK Jr. sidesteps from presidential bid to support Trump

“He is a phenomenal person, a phenomenal man who loves the people of this country,” Trump said of RFK Jr. during their joint appearance

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) Friday dropped his campaign and joined forces with former Republican President Donald Trump ahead of the Nov. 5 elections in the United States as both made a joint appearance at a rally in Arizona to announce the news.

Kennedy's father was shot dead during his own presidential campaign in the late 1960s and his uncle, the then-incumbent John F. Kennedy was seeking reelection when he was murdered. Trump said he knew both of them were “looking down right now and they are very, very proud” of RFK Jr., who has diverted from his family's Democratic, claiming that Vice President Kamala Harris had no government plan because ”who needs one when you can attack Trump?“ Therefore he said his decision was motivated by what was best for the country.

RFK Jr. and Trump took center stage in Glendale, Arizona, hours after the third-party candidate's campaign was suspended. ”We are both in this to do what's right for the country,“ Trump -who has survived an assassination attempt against him- told his followers. He also pledged to release all the classified documents pertaining to JFK's murder in 1963 and establish an independent presidential commission to investigate these matters. ”He is a phenomenal person, a phenomenal man who loves the people of this country,“ Trump added of RFK Jr.

Both leaders had had more than one meeting starting last month to discuss ”not about the things that separate us because we don't agree on everything, but on the values and the issues that bind us together,“ such as ”safe food and ending the chronic disease epidemic.“

”Don't you want a president who's going to protect America's freedoms and who is going to protect us against totalitarianism?,“ RFK Jr. also argued. ”Don't you want a safe environment for your children? Don't you want to know that the food that you're feeding them is not filled with chemicals that are going to give them cancer and chronic disease? And don't you want a president that's going to make America healthy again?,“ insisted the lawyer who specialized in environmental issues who came back under the limelight during the Covid-19 crisis by campaigning against vaccines never tested before on humans.

Trump also pointed out that RFK Jr. ”did well in the polls“ but ended up a victim of the two-party system. ”And all who supported Bobby's campaign, I very simply ask you to join us in building this coalition,“ he went on. ”It's a beautiful coalition in defense of liberty and safety, prosperity and peace. It's going to be an incredible coalition, and the relationship has been so good for so long. I have no doubt it's going to work and work well, but we have to win. We have to take our country away from these people that are going to destroy our country.“

RFK Jr. also explained that he would be removing his candidacy from swing states so that voters would support Trump but would remain active on paper in those states where winners are traditionally known beforehand.

”Three causes drove me to enter this race in the first place. 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 at President Trump: ... free speech, the war in Ukraine, and the war on our children,“ he underlined.

He also mentioned the Democratic National Committee's ”legal war“ against Trump and himself while running a ”sham primary“ that made President Joseph Biden the candidate only to drop out and favor Harris.

Kennedy suggested he would be offered a job under the potential future Republican administration but made no indication as to what that position might be, although other sources hinted he would be appointed secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which would be corroborated by Trump saying that he would be “working with Bobby” to investigate the increase in chronic health conditions and childhood diseases, including autoimmune disorders, autism, obesity, and infertility.

Five members of the Kennedy family issued a statement Friday speaking of “a sad ending to a sad story” because “our brother Bobby’s decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear.” They also reiterated their support for Harris.

RFK Jr. also acknowledged his decision was “agonizing for me because of the difficulties it causes my wife and my children and my friends.” Kennedy first entered the 2024 presidential race as a Democrat but left the party to run as an independent, at which he was considerably successful by luring anti-establishment voters and vaccine skeptics.

Meanwhile, Harris' camp urged RFK Jr.'s supporters to consider the Democratic ticket and launched an appeal to ”any American out there who is tired of Donald Trump.”