Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appears during a campaign event to announce his pick for the mate at the Henry J. Kaiser Event Center on March 26, 2024 in Oakland, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to drop out of the presidential race on Friday and endorse Republican nominee Donald Trump, NBC News reported Wednesday, citing two sources familiar with the candidate’s plans.
Kennedy’s withdrawal from the race will end a longshot bid that continues to threaten to derail the primary contest between Trump and his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Kennedy and Trump campaigns are working to arrange a joint appearance, one NBC source said.
Trump and Kennedy have an event scheduled in the Phoenix, Arizona, area on Friday. The Kennedy campaign has billed the event, set for 2 pm ET, as an address “about the current historical moment and the path forward.”
Kennedy, 70, ran an unorthodox campaign that at times seemed fueled and vexed by contrasting views and controversies on a variety of hot-button issues.
While he never came close to the level of support garnered by the Republican and Democratic nominees, polls from the presidential race showed Kennedy making one of the strongest third-party showings in decades.
In a presidential map where victory can depend on thin margins of voters on the fence in some swing states, Kennedy’s appearance on 19 state ballots could have a significant impact.
Second, Kennedy took flack from both parties, who accused him of essentially running a spoiler campaign that would siphon votes away from his preferred candidate.
For their part, Kennedy campaign officials have repeatedly expressed a greater kinship with the Trump operation than Harris.
Nicole Shanahan, Kennedy’s running mate, suggested in an interview published Tuesday that the campaign is considering whether to stay in the race or “join Donald Trump.”
The problem with continuing a third-party campaign, Shanahan explained, is “risking the presidency of Kamala Harris and (Tim) Walz because we’re drawing … somehow more votes from Trump.”
A leaked video in April had shown Kennedy campaign staffers calling President Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate who was seen as an “enemy” of Trump and Kennedy voters.
Suspicions about Kennedy’s campaign running against the Democratic ticket grew in July, when another leaked video showed Trump telling Kennedy, “I’m glad you’re doing something. And I think it’s going to be good for you and it’s going to be great for you.”
The Washington Post later reported that Kennedy had talked to Trump about the possibility of endorsing the Republican campaign and, if he won, joining the administration.
Trump in the video also said he agreed with Kennedy, who has been spreading anti-vaccine claims for years, about childhood vaccinations.
Critics often blame Kennedy and Shanahan, his ex-wife Google co-founder Sergey Brin, from trade in dangerous conspiracy theories, especially about vaccines.
Medical organizations generally say childhood vaccines are safe. The World Health Organization’s 2024 study found that immunization efforts have saved more than 100 million infant lives in the past half century.
Running as an independent after withdrawing from the Democratic primary at the end of 2023, Kennedy campaigned as an alternative to the mainstream political binary.
He has plenty on his resume as an environmental lawyer and activist, presenting himself as a slayer of corporate giants and a voice for disaffected voters across the political spectrum.
His political stature may be enhanced by his name. A scion of the Kennedy political dynasty, RFK Jr. is the son of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, both of whom were assassinated.
Kennedy’s wild personal life also provided a stream of human interest that kept him in the spotlight.
In a new interview with the controversial comedian Roseanne Barr, Kennedy told how he once planted a dead bear cub in Central Park – acquired during a falconry expedition north of New York City – and staged it to look like it had been hit by a cyclist.
The story, which echoes reports from 10 years earlier, comes weeks after Kennedy reportedly apologized to a woman who accused him of assaulting her in the late 1990s.
That same month, Kennedy sparked a backlash when he tweeted, unprompted, “As President, I will not take sides on 9/11 or any other debate.”