Ahead of the US presidential election in November, good news has come for Republican candidate Donald Trump. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday withdrew his candidature from the election campaign and announced his support for Trump. During this, he said that he does not want to help Democratic candidate Kamala Harris by remaining in the election field.
However, analysts are not sure yet whether Kennedy’s support will help Trump or not. A tough fight is being seen between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump before the November 5 election.
Kennedy statement
Kennedy said he met Trump and his aides several times and found that he agreed with Trump on issues like border security, free speech and ending wars. Speaking to the media, Kennedy said, “There are still many issues and views on which we have very serious differences. But we are unanimous on other major issues.” Kennedy said he would remove his name from the ballot in the 10 electoral states that determine the outcome of the election and remain as a candidate in other states.
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Kennedy entered the fray as a rival to President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination in April 2023. At that time, voters disliked both the aging Biden and Trump, who was facing legal cases, after which he changed his plan and decided to contest as an independent candidate.
The family had expressed displeasure
A Reuters/Ipsos exit poll for November 2023 showed Kennedy receiving the support of 20% of Americans in a three-way race with Biden and Trump.
He ran a high-profile ad during the February 2024 Super Bowl that referenced his father, US Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, and most of his high-profile family expressed displeasure.
His sister Kerry Kennedy said on Friday that his decision to support Trump betrayed the family’s values. “This is a sad ending to a sad story,” Kerry Kennedy said on social media. For a while, both Biden and Trump were concerned that Kennedy could garner enough support to change the election result.
But as the campaign gained momentum in the last two months, the election campaign also took a turn. Trump survived an assassination attempt and 81-year-old Biden bowed to pressure from his own party and handed over the reins of the campaign to Harris. After this, voters’ interest in 70-year-old Kennedy decreased.
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Kennedy’s support waned
An Ipsos exit poll earlier this month showed his national support had fallen to 4%, a very low figure but still a key factor in a tight Trump-Harris race. Trump celebrated Kennedy’s endorsement during a campaign stop in Las Vegas. “I want to thank Bobby. It was great. He’s a great guy that everybody respects,” he said.
“Donald Trump is not winning support,” Mary Beth Cahill, a senior adviser to the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement. “He has inherited the burden of a failed fringe candidate. Well done.”
What analysts say
Drexel University political science professor William Rosenberg said the move was unlikely to have a significant impact on the presidential election given Kennedy’s low support. “If he had done this three months ago, it might have had a different effect,” he said.
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Analyst pollster Tony Fabrizio argued that Kennedy’s supporters would be more likely to back Trump than Harris in electoral states. A super PAC supporting Trump told Reuters on Wednesday that in return for his endorsement, Kennedy would be hoping for a job in a potential Trump administration.
Kennedy told Reuters in an interview in March that if elected president he would repeal several provisions of Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act and seek to close the southern border to immigrants illegally entering the US. He also offered strong support for Israel.