VIDEO: RFK Jr. Announces He's Suspending His Candidacy for President, Endorsing Donald Trump

PHOENIX (AP) Robert F. Kennedy announced Friday that he was suspending his independent presidential bid and endorsing Donald Trump.

Watch Kennedy's remarks in the player above.

Kennedy said his internal polling showed her presence in the race would hurt Trump and help Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. He cited free speech, the war in Ukraine and “a war on our children” among the reasons he sought to remove her name from the ballot in key states.

“These are the main reasons that convinced me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent candidate, and now to support President Trump,” Kennedy said.

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He said, however, that he was not officially ending his campaign and that his supporters could continue to support him in most states where they are unlikely to influence the outcome. Kennedy has taken steps to withdraw his candidacy in at least two states by the end of this week, Arizona and Pennsylvania.

Kennedy said the decision followed conversations with Trump in recent weeks.

Before his speech, his campaign said in a Pennsylvania court filing Friday that he would support Trump for president. A Kennedy spokesman said the court filing was written in error and would be updated, though Kennedy himself reiterated his support for Trump shortly afterward.

Kennedy was scheduled to deliver a speech in Arizona on Friday to discuss “the current historic moment and the path forward,” according to his campaign. Hours later, Trump will hold a rally in nearby Glendale. Trump’s campaign suggested he would be joined by “a special guest,” but neither campaign responded to messages asking whether Kennedy would be that guest.

A late endorsement in the presidential race could give the former president a modest boost from Kennedy supporters.

A year ago, some would have thought it inconceivable that a member of the most illustrious family in Democratic politics would collaborate with Trump to block Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris from the White House. In recent months, Kennedy has accused Trump of betraying his supporters, while Trump has criticized Kennedy as “the most radical leftist candidate in the race.”

The Pennsylvania filing was filed Friday in a case in which Kennedy was defending his documents to appear on the ballot in the key state against a challenge from two Democratic activists.

The filing said that “because of today's support for Donald Trump,” he was requesting that his campaign's nominating papers be thrown out so that he would not appear on the Pennsylvania ballot.

Kennedy has already won ballot access in several states, including key ones like Michigan and Nevada. Some secretaries of state have said it is too late for him to step down, even if he wanted to.

Cheri Hardmon, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of State, said its law requires that presidential electors be selected at the state's fall convention, and that has already happened, meaning his name will remain on the state's ballot.

And in Wisconsin, where Kennedy has filed a ballot access request and is awaiting approval, there is “no mechanism for him to 'revert' his request,” according to Wisconsin Elections Commission spokesman Joel DeSpain.

The Kennedy and Trump campaigns have been heaping compliments and engaging in behind-the-scenes discussions in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. Both campaigns have spent months accusing Democrats of using the justice system as a weapon to their advantage. And both have publicly hinted that they might be willing to join forces, with the shared goal of limiting Harris’s chances.

Last month, during the Republican National Convention, Kennedy's son posted and quickly deleted a video showing a phone call between Kennedy and Trump, in which the former president appeared to be trying to convince Kennedy to side with him.

Talks between the two camps have continued, with close Trump allies quietly pressuring Kennedy to drop out of the race and back the Republican nominee, according to a person familiar with the efforts who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Trump told CNN on Tuesday that he would “love” to have the support of Kennedy, whom he called a “brilliant guy.” He also said he would “certainly” be open to the idea of ​​Kennedy playing a role in his administration if Kennedy steps down and supports him.

Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, also openly suggested in a podcast this week that her campaign could “go away immediately and join forces with Donald Trump.” While she clarified that she is not in talks with Trump personally, she did entertain the idea that Kennedy could join the Trump administration as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

“I think Bobby would be great in a role like that,” Shanahan said. “I fully support him. I have high hopes.”

Earlier Friday, Shanahan posted on X that she was neither a Kamala Democrat nor a Trump Republican.

“I am an INDEPENDENT American who stands for ideas, not a person or a party,” she wrote. “I will continue to work to give a voice to the voiceless and give power back to the people.”

Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York, Michelle L. Price in Phoenix, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Meg Kinnard in Chicago and Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report.

The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its coverage of elections and democracy. Learn more about the AP’s Democracy Initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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