RFK Jr. Quits and Backs Trump—Whining ‘I Should Have Won’

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has officially scrapped his free-falling campaign as an Independent and endorsed Donald Trump for president.

The Kennedy scion made the announcement around lunchtime in Arizona, a key battleground state. The endorsement ends a week of speculation that he’d finally end his White House fever dream amid a spell of wonky stories, plummeting poll numbers, and a depleting campaign fund.

“I throw my support behind Donald Trump,” Kennedy said 20 minutes into his address. He urged his supporters in deep-blue states to still vote for him this fall.

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That endorsement brought a smile to Trump’s face. He acknowledged the endorsement to open a campaign rally in Las Vegas that began as Kennedy was still speaking in Phoenix.

“We just had a really nice endorsement from RFK Jr,” Trump said. “I want to thank Bobby. That was nice. Really, really nice. A great guy—he’s respected by everybody.”

Trump’s campaign worked quick to solicit donations from Kennedy supporters. Within an hour of Kennedy’s address ending, fundraising emails and texts were blasted out declaring Kennedy and Trump would together “dismantle the deep state” and usher in world peace.

“Most importantly, we’ll put the forgotten men & women of America FIRST once again,” the pitch added.

Kennedy filed paperwork to withdraw from presidential ballots in Arizona on Thursday and did the same in Pennsylvania on Friday afternoon. In a motion there, the Associated Press reported that Kennedy indicated he was dropping out to endorse Trump.

That report was published mere minutes before Kennedy took to a podium in Arizona and made that endorsement official. There, he explained his decision, asked his supporters to not vote for Kamala Harris this fall, and decried that he would’ve won the presidency in a just system.

“In an honest system, I believe that I would have won the election,” he said, his voice coarse.

Kennedy, 70, also ranted about how he was treated unfairly by the media, claiming they conspired to not interview him and deny him airtime.

“The mainstream media was once the guardian of the First Amendment and democratic principles,” he said, claiming the press has since “joined” a “systemic attack on democracy.”

Reports have said Trump’s campaign would consider Kennedy for a cabinet role if he suspended his campaign and endorsed the Republican. Kennedy addressed these rumors on Friday, saying Trump and him have met multiple times and spoke about them teaming up previously.

While Kennedy was polling “in the mid-single digits” at the national level on Friday morning, according to the AP, his move to quit could still spell trouble for Harris in states where margins are already razor thin. That includes places like Arizona, where he’s still polling around 5.4 percent, and in Nevada, where he’s at 6.7 percent, according to The Hill.

Kennedy polled at around 10 percent nationally for most of 2024 and did even better in some swing states, but has seen his polling figures plummet since Joe Biden bowed out of the race. Political analysts said the change at the top of the ticket pulled Kennedy’s Democratic-leaning voters back to the Harris ticket, Axios reported.

The decision to endorse Trump didn’t sit well with five of Kennedy’s siblings who are still alive. Kerry Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Courtney Kennedy, Chris Kennedy, and Rory Kennedy each signed a letter that called their brother’s endorsement a “betrayal.”

Jack Schlossberg, the 31-year-old grandson of John F. Kennedy, also mocked his cousin’s decision. “Never been less surprised in my life,” he said. “Been saying it for over a year—RFKjr is for sale, works for Trump.”

Kennedy’s wife, Cheryl Hines, issued a statement in support of her partner that was mocked by many online after she wrote her husband had suspended his “presidency.” She also parroted Kennedy’s talking points about being denied a chance to be on ballots nationwide and said it was an endearing journey.

Bizarre stories that emerged in recent weeks about Kennedy likely didn’t help matters, either. Most notably, he admitted to dumping the body of a bear cub in New York City’s Central Park in 2014—an incident that caused a police animal cruelty investigation but was never solved.

Add in Kennedy’s admission in May that he had a brain worm—paired with his inability to coax his way on to a debate stage—and it becomes apparent Kennedy likely was never a real threat to the status quo of America’s two-party system at the presidential level.

Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, made sure she emphasized to their supporters on Friday that she’s “not a Trump Republican.” She did not appear at her ex-running mate’s address.

There were signs as of late that suggested a rift between Shanahan, 38, and her now-former running mate. She notably had $925,000 refunded to her from her own campaign last month.

“I’m an INDEPENDENT American who is endorsing ideas, not a person or a party,” she posted. “I will continue working to give a voice to the voiceless and bring power back to the people.”