Before the event, the Trump campaign had issued a press release hinting at the presence of a “special guest” at the Glendale gathering. As it transpired, this distinguished attendee was none other than Robert F Kennedy himself.
During the rally held in the Phoenix suburb Donald Trump invited RFK Jr to the stage and commended him for conducting an “extraordinary campaign.” Kennedy’s presence at the event signalled a significant shift in the dynamic between him and Trump, as they had previously engaged in mutual criticism.
As Kennedy joined Trump onstage, the crowd burst into “Bobby!” cheers.
As per NBC News, Trump acknowledged Kennedy’s influence on the campaign, highlighting, “With all those votes he was getting, he has a lot of votes that he could have gotten … I think he’s going to have a huge influence on this campaign.” He further promised to establish a commission on assassination attempts if re-elected, in honour of Kennedy’s father, Sen Robert F Kennedy Sr, and uncle, President John F Kennedy, who were both assassinated.
The commission would focus on releasing the remaining documents on the 1963 presidential assassination, records that Trump did not release during his time in office.
During his appearance, Kennedy discussed common concerns he shared with Trump, stating, “Don’t you want a president that’s going to make America healthy again?” He emphasised issues like “having safe food and ending the chronic disease epidemic.” Kennedy, a known anti-vaccine advocate, had earlier suspended his presidential campaign.
The alliance between Trump and Kennedy signals a new phase, considering their past differences.
Claiming that his presence in the race would damage Trump and benefit Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, Kennedy announced that he would be removing his name from the ballot in “about 10 battleground states where my presence would be a spoiler.” However, he still urged voters in states where his name remains on the ballot to vote for him in the fall.
He clarified that he was not formally ending his campaign and stated that his supporters could continue to back him in the majority of states where they are unlikely to influence the outcome.
Kennedy took steps to withdraw his candidacy in at least two states late this week—Arizona and Pennsylvania. However, election officials in the battleground states of Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin said it would be too late for him to remove his name from the ballot even if he desired to do so.
Kennedy mentioned free speech, the war in Ukraine, and “a war on our children” as some of the reasons why he wanted to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states. He announced that these were the main causes that led him to leave the Democratic Party, run as an independent, and now throw his support behind President Trump.