RFK Jr. Endorses Trump, Ends 2024 Presidential Campaign, AP Reports

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is throwing his support behind Republican nominee Donald Trump, ending a long-shot presidential campaign that had sought to offer voters an alternative to the major party candidates.

Kennedy said in a Pennsylvania court filing that he would be endorsing the former Republican president, according to the Associated Press. The independent candidate is slated to deliver an address in Arizona later Friday.

By dropping out and backing Trump over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, Kennedy is seeking to shift his role in the election from spoiler to kingmaker. But the unorthodox nature of his campaign, which he started as a Democrat and then as an independent, makes his impact on the contest uncertain, adding another twist to an already chaotic race.

The announcement comes one day after Harris officially accepted the Democratic nomination, and culminates a week in which Trump has sought to blunt her momentum with a series of splashy campaign events and media engagements. The Republican nominee is also expected to appear — with a “special guest” — in Arizona later Friday following Kennedy’s announcement.

At the height of his campaign in January, Kennedy was polling as high as 20% in a three-way race with Trump and President Joe Biden in the RealClearPolitics average of national polls. 

By mid-July, his share had declined to about 8%. And then Biden’s decision to drop out and pass the baton to Harris shook up the race and dealt Kennedy another blow, with his average polling support dropping to 5% within days. 

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