Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced his decision to suspend his campaign and endorse former President Donald Trump on Friday.
Kennedy gave a speech on Friday highlighting his reasons for leaving the Democratic Party and media censorship.
The big picture: Kennedy cited the Democratic Party’s legal tactics against him and President Trump, as well as their handling of the primary process, as key factors leading to his departure from the 2024 race.
- He mentioned that in an unbiased system, he believed he could have won the election, but the systematic censorship and media control made it unfeasible.
- The former Democrat expressed his intentions to remove his name from swing states’ ballots to avoid being a “spoiler” while remaining on ballots in states designated as “red” or “blue,” to prevent influencing the competition between Trump and Vice President Harris.
Go deeper: Kennedy’s decision coincided with Trump’s campaign event in Arizona, raising speculation about a potential endorsement.
- The Democratic National Committee (DNC) viewed Kennedy as a potential spoiler whose supporters might sway the election in Trump’s favor, engaging in legal battles to impede Kennedy’s ballot access.
- Kennedy emphasized that Vice President Harris declined to engage with him, further emphasizing the DNC’s obstruction.
- Despite initial differences, Kennedy’s relationship with Trump evolved positively, culminating in discussions and alignment on key issues.
- The recent developments indicated a potential alliance between Kennedy’s campaign and Trump’s team to counter Harris in the 2024 election.
- Kennedy’s campaign faced declining support, dwindling poll numbers, and financial struggles, prompting his decision to suspend his campaign.
What he’s saying: “In an honest system, I believe I would have won the election,” Kennedy said. “I no longer believe that I have a realistic past of electoral victory in the face of this relentless, systematic censorship and media control.”
- He went on to describe the modern Democratic Party as the party of war, censorship, corruption, big pharma, big tech, big ag and big money.
- “The DNC waged continual legal warfare against both President Trump and myselfKennedy said. “Each time that our volunteers turned in those towering boxes of signatures needed to get on the ballot, the DNC dragged us into court, state after state, attempting to erase their work and disappear with the will of the voters, which signed those petitions. It deployed DNC aligned judges to throw me and other candidates off the ballot, and to throw President Trump in jail.”
