Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his independent campaign for the White House on Friday and endorsed Donald Trump, creating a late-stage shakeup in the race that could potentially provide a modest boost to the former president from Kennedy’s supporters.
Later that day, Kennedy joined Trump onstage at a rally in Arizona, where the crowd erupted into cheers of “Bobby!”
Kennedy explained that his internal polling showed his candidacy would hurt Trump and benefit Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, although recent public polls don’t clearly indicate that he has had a significant impact on support for either major-party candidate.
Citing free speech, the war in Ukraine, and what he called “a war on our children” as key issues, Kennedy announced his intention to withdraw his name from the ballot in battleground states.
“These are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party, run as an independent, and now throw my support to President Trump,” Kennedy stated at the event in Phoenix.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.