On Friday, independent candidate for president Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke in Phoenix, Arizona. The timing was interesting from the start, as former President Donald Trump is scheduled to host an event in Glendale, Arizona, on the same day. Before the speech, Kennedy was generally expected to step away from the presidential campaign. He had already withdrawn from the Arizona ballot on Thursday.
A post by the Associated Press on X, before Kennedy spoke, seems to have dropped a hint — well, not really a hint, an outright statement, that Kennedy would be endorsing Donald Trump for president. That has the potential to affect the presidential race moving forward.
BREAKING: Ahead of a speech, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says in a Pennsylvania court filing that he will be endorsing Donald Trump. https://t.co/45npx3wW5u
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 23, 2024
That statement proved to be accurate.
Kennedy described his long affiliation with the Democratic Party, his history of attending conventions, and how the Democrats were once the party of the working man and the "bulwark against big money interests." He described leaving the party as it had become the party of "censorship, corruption, Big Pharma, and... Big Money." He also cited the Democratic Party's squeezing him out of the race despite Joe Biden's obvious decline.
Kennedy also slammed the Democrats' labyrinthian requirements for getting a place on the Democrat primary ballot — including requiring "over a million" signatures from voters.
He went on to credit his campaign workers, their signature-collection efforts having gone on through extremes of weather, with volunteers working long hours to forward Kennedy's campaign. They, Kennedy said, collected more signatures than any campaign in history, and he thanked them for it.
Then, Kennedy said, "I will not allow your efforts to go to waste."
Here's one of the more memorable quotes Kennedy made about the national Democrats: "In the name of saving democracy, the Democratic Party set itself to destroying it." He went on to deride Kamala Harris's candidacy, blaming national Democrats for effectively hiding her from the media, pointing out that in over 30 days as the candidate, Kamala Harris still has not granted an interview or answered any unscripted questions. He accused the Democrats of destroying democracy and weaponizing government to shut out other candidates.
In one zinger, Kennedy compared the Democrats' collusion with the legacy media and weaponization of federal agencies to Vladimir Putin's control of the Russian media and Putin's resulting landslide reelection victory.
Finally, Kennedy admitted that his campaign had no chance of an electoral victory and that his continued campaign would benefit Democrats. He went on to say he was suspending, not ending, his campaign. He noted that he will remain on the ballots in many states and encouraged voters to cast ballots for him. He stated that he is removing his name from ballots in ten battleground states and encouraged voters in those states not to vote for him and instead to vote for former President Trump. He cited three reasons: "The war on free speech, the war in Ukraine, and the war on our children."
Kennedy, speaking of the war in Ukraine, cited President Trump's statement that he would open negotiations to end the war in Ukraine as one of his primary reasons for throwing his support behind Trump and reported that Trump was "anxious to talk to me about chronic disease." He reported meeting with Trump several times, and in a series of discussions, Trump suggested that he and Kennedy would join forces in a unity party.
This, it appears, is taking place now. Kennedy stated outright that he has "very serious differences" with some of Trump's stances, but named several key areas — the border, ending "forever wars," the health of the nation's youth (and population in general), and so on, which overrode the areas of disagreement. Kennedy spoke at great length about the nation's health — citing processed foods, overmedication, and subsidies from the federal government aimed at all the wrong products.
Kennedy also described trying to open similar negotiations with Vice President Harris, who refused to meet with or speak to Kennedy. That, honestly, says a lot — about Kamala Harris.
The Kennedy campaign has been at odds with the Democratic Party for some time now and has been attacking Democrats for squashing Kennedy's initial primary run.
See Related: Nasty: Nicole Shanahan Lays Out Just How Far the DNC Has Gone to Sabotage the Kennedy Campaign
Kennedy's remarks can be viewed in their entirety on C-SPAN here.
What remains to be seen now is what role Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will play in the Trump campaign as it shifts into high gear, but it's a new ball game now.
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