Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made his much-anticipated announcement Friday that he was dropping out of the 2024 race for the White House — and said in a Pennsylvania court filing that he will endorse former President Donald Trump.
Kennedy, 70, made the announcement just days after speculation started swirling that he planned to ax his campaign and endorse Trump instead.
He was influenced by talks between Trump allies and his team, as well as being snubbed by Democrats throughout the campaign, sources had earlier told The Post.
In a speech Friday, he criticized the unprecedented events of the 2024 election so far, slamming Democrats for installing Vice President Kamala Harris without her appearing in a primary.
“When a predictably bungled debate performance precipitated the palace coup against President Biden, the same shadowy DNC operatives appointed his successor, also without an election, they installed a candidate who was so unpopular with voters that she dropped out in 2020 without winning a single delegate,” he said.
He further criticized the fact that Harris received the Democrats’
The Trump endorsement was not 100% a sure thing as late as Thursday, the sources said, but speculation mounted further when Trump announced a “special guest” would be making an appearance just miles from where RFK Jr. would be that day.
Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, had also hinted earlier this week of possibly dropping out to “join forces” with Trump in a bid to stop Vice President Kamala Harris from winning.
Shortly after the revelation, Trump declared he’d be “honored” to have Kennedy’s backing.
Trump, 78, had reportedly met with Kennedy in Milwaukee last month, on the first day of the Republican National Convention, in an effort to gain his endorsement.
The Harris campaign, meanwhile, is said to rebuffed overtures to meet with him.
Kennedy originally launched his campaign in April 2023, when he ran as a Democrat against President Biden.
He then changed party affiliation to independent in October, criticizing both the Republican and Democratic parties for making up the “uniparty.”
The Democrat-turned-independent’s campaign policies attracted both liberals and conservatives with his anti-war, environmentalism and COVID skepticism.
Son and namesake of Robert F. Kennedy, the now ex-presidential candidate
Those at his rallies were exuberant at the idea of voting for him, with some considering casting their ballot for an independent for the first time. His supporters told The Post they saw him as a better option than Trump or Biden, and were attracted to his questioning of the government and approach towards the environment.
Kennedy rose in the polls, especially after becoming an independent and forging his own lane outside of Biden’s shadow. Polls had him over 20%, causing some of his supporters to compare him to Ross Perot, who received major support as a third-party candidate in 1992 and 1996.
As an independent, Kennedy’s largest challenge was getting on the ballot in every state. The process cost him millions, according to his campaign, time and several lawsuits.
His campaign claimed as of Friday that he had finished or was in the process of petitioning in all 50 states. It’s unclear how many states will still feature him on the ballot even with his suspension.
RFK Jr. started to falter after he failed to reach the minimum potential electoral vote threshold to get on the debate stage with Trump and Biden in June. He also faced some criticism after his VP pick seemed to disagree with him on his views on abortion, leading the campaign to do clean up.
He then was hit with stories about his past, including him claiming he suffered from a “brain worm” and revealing that he left a dead bear in Central Park.
The Trump team and allies of the former president were looking to court Kennedy for months, especially Donald Trump Jr., who worried that the independent would take away votes and be an unpredictable factor in the close race against Harris.
Kennedy was seen discussing the election with Trump on the phone in a leaked video, prompting intrigue into what concessions Kennedy was looking for to ultimately support the 45th president.
