Kennedy endorses Trump after asking Pa. court to take his name off the commonwealth’s ballot

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that he would suspend his independent presidential campaign and seek to have his name removed from ballots in battleground states while endorsing former President Donald Trump’s reelection.

Kennedy made the announcement, saying that he was making good on his promise not to be a spoiler in the election, during a live streamed news conference Friday afternoon. It followed him filing papers in Pennsylvania court asking to have his and running mate Nicole Shanahan’s names removed from the commonwealth’s ballot.

The one-page filing in Commonwealth Court said that as a result of Kennedy’s endorsement of former President Donald Trump for reelection, Kennedy and running mate Nicole Shanahan would no longer oppose a Democratic-backed challenge to their candidacies.

“In April of 2023 I launched my campaign for president of the United States. I began this journey as a Democrat, the party my father, my uncle, the party which I pledge my own allegiance to,” he said, adding that he had worked hard to promote his candidacy despite skepticism and “continual legal warfare” challenging his candidacy.

“In an honest system, I believe that I would have won the election,” Kennedy said, suggesting that the media, partisan primary system and courts were aligned against him. 

“I’m sorry to say that while democracy may still be alive at the grassroots, it has become a little more than a slogan for our political institutions, for our media and for our government, and most sadly at all for me, the Democratic Party,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy said that he will remain on the ballot in states that aren’t battlegrounds, and that he could “conceivably still end up in the White House in a contingent election.”

A vaccine skeptic who has promoted numerous health-related conspiracy theories, Kennedy spent a large portion of his speech discussing the need to reduce childhood disease and obesity.

He said that he would like his relationship with Trump to function like a “unity party” that would allow them to disagree on some issues and collaborate on others.

“I feel a moral obligation to use this opportunity to save millions of American children,” Kennedy said about his decision to suspend his campaign and help elect Trump.

He didn’t mention a specific role in a potential Trump administration, but said about combating childhood diseases that “President Trump told me that he wants this to be his legacy. I’m choosing to believe that this time he will follow through.”

Kennedy said that he also reached out to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign about potentially reaching a similar agreement, but she “declined to meet or even to speak with me.”

Following his announcement, the Harris campaign released a statement.

“For any American out there who is tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward, ours is a campaign for you,” Harris Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a press release. “In order to deliver for working people and those who feel left behind, we need a leader who will fight for you, not just for themselves, and bring us together, not tear us apart. Vice President Harris wants to earn your support.”

Kennedy has widely been viewed by both parties as a potential spoiler for the 2024 race. A move to endorse either major party’s nominee could tip the scales of the election in their favor.

Paul Rossi, Kennedy’s lawyer, said earlier that there were no plans to withdraw from the ballot in Pennsylvania. Though the campaign had already filed a request to remove Kennedy from the ballot in Arizona on Thursday.

“We’re not pulling off the ballot in Pennsylvania,” Rossi told the Capital-Star. “He’s endorsing — whatever he does today has no impact on what we’re doing here.”

Asked if he was aware of the request to be removed from the ballot in Arizona, another key swing state, Rossi said, “I’m aware of everything.”

The Kennedy campaign did not respond to questions about Kennedy’s plans or Rossi’s statements.

On Wednesday, NBC news reported that Kennedy planned to drop out of the race and endorse Republican candidate Donald Trump, according to multiple sources. On Thursday, Kennedy’s campaign filed paperwork in Arizona to withdraw from the presidential ballot in the state.

In an interview posted Tuesday, Shanahan said on the podcast Impact Theory that she and Kennedy were considering whether to remain in the race or drop out and support Trump.

Rossi is representing Kennedy in a Commonwealth Court case brought by voters in Philadelphia and Dauphin County alleging that Kennedy used a fake address to file for ballot access and did not meet signature requirements. The case is backed by a Democratic super PAC Clear Choice Action.

A ruling is expected soon, though it may not be in Kennedy’s favor. At a hearing for the case Tuesday, Kennedy was unable to speak on his own behalf because he arrived nearly two hours late.

The deadline to withdraw from the ballot in Pennsylvania passed on August 12. Kennedy’s campaign made no such request and would need to seek leave from the Commonwealth Court to remove him unless the ongoing case against him is successful.

Kennedy’s campaign began with major momentum for a third party candidate, polling as high as 10% earlier this year. However, after a series of scandals and a tightening race between the two major party candidates, Kennedy’s polling has dropped below 5%.

Kennedy has embraced many baseless conspiracy theories throughout his campaign, particularly when it comes to health. His campaign has also faced a number of scandals, including a recent report that Kennedy staged the death of a bear cub in Central Park to make it falsely appear it was hit by a bike nearly 10 years ago.

This story was originally published by the Pennsylvania Capital-Star