Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is ‘Suspending’ Presidential Campaign

LOADING ERROR LOADING Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he was “suspending” his independent presidential bid and endorsed Republican nominee Donald Trump on Friday, a day after Kennedy withdrew from the ballot in Arizona. Kennedy was expected to announce he was withdrawing from the race at a speech in Phoenix on Friday afternoon, but a Pennsylvania court filing earlier in the day confirmed he would withdraw from that state’s ballot and endorse Trump. Advertisement In a bit of a twist, Kennedy said he was not “terminating” his campaign, only “suspending” it, and encouraged his supporters who are not in battleground states to nevertheless vote for him. In 10 battleground states, however, including Arizona and Pennsylvania, he’s removing his name from the ballot and urged voters not to vote for him, fearing he would play the role of a spoiler candidate by siphoning votes away from Trump. “In an honest system, I believe I would have won the election,” Kennedy told the crowd. “In a system with open debates, with fair primaries … and with a truly independent media untainted by government propaganda and censorship, everything would be different.” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Friday he is “suspending” his independent presidential bid. Justin Sullivan via Getty Images Advertisement Kennedy thanked the campaign’s volunteers for helping the ticket make the ballot on a state-by-state basis, navigating an “insurmountable tangle of arbitrary rules for collecting signatures.” Then, veering into conspiracy, Kennedy embarked on a long attack accusing the Democratic Party of colluding with the media to undertake a ”systemic attack on democracy.” Kennedy also returned to familiar themes from his campaign, criticizing ultra-processed foods and toxic chemicals for causing a wide variety of physical and mental health issues, from diabetes to various cancers to attention deficit disorder. Kennedy’s endorsement was immediately disavowed by his extended family, who called it “a betrayal” and endorsed the Democratic ticket of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. “We believe in Harris and Walz,” Kennedy’s siblings said in a statement. It is a sad ending to a sad story.” Advertisement Rumors about the campaign had swirled since Tuesday, when RFK Jr.’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, said on a podcast that the two were exploring their options for the race. “One is staying in, forming that new party but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and Walz presidency because we draw votes from Trump or we draw somehow more votes from Trump,” Shanahan told Tom Bilyeu, the host of “Impact Theory.” “Or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump, and we walk away from that, and we explain to our base why we’re making this decision,” she continued. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/robert-kennedy-jr-drops-out-race-rfk_n_66c8a588e4b0b61af203a6b3