Robert F. Kennedy is preparing to withdraw from the 2024 election race. The non-partisan candidate and anti-vaccine activist has announced that he will give a “message to the nation” this Friday in Arizona, one of the seven states that will define the election on November 5. The announcement comes in the same week that Nicole Shanahan, RFK Jr.’s vice presidential candidate, revealed that the candidate is considering withdrawing and joining Donald Trump’s campaign. “We are going to make sure that the people who have corrupted our democracy do not come to power in November,” Shanahan said in reference to the Democratic ticket, made up of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
The American press is speculating that RFK Jr., 70, will drop out of the race with his message. CNN and NBC and the newspaper The New York Times They are already taking it for granted, citing sources within the independent campaign. Kennedy was a lifelong Democratic Party member, the same party as his father, Bobby Kennedy, and his uncle, Robert F. Kennedy. In October, however, he announced that he would seek a non-party White House bid. His libertarian policies, his activism against the pharmaceutical industry and his weakness for conspiracy theories have made him an attractive politician for some on the left and the right. Shanahan, however, admitted this week that “they take more votes away from Trump.”
On a tour of Michigan, Trump said Tuesday that he “respects” Kennedy. “He’s a brilliant guy. He’s very smart. I’ve known him for a long time. I didn’t know he was thinking about leaving, but if he decides to leave, I would be open to it (giving him a position in his Cabinet),” said the Republican standard-bearer, who is seeking to break the great moment that Democrats are experiencing after Harris’s rise. Trump and Kennedy have been in contact in recent weeks. The press reports that both met in person in Wisconsin the week in which the Republican was anointed as the candidate at the Milwaukee convention.
These votes could be decisive for Trump to return to the White House. The November 5 election will be decided in a handful of swing territories where Harris and the Republican have focused their efforts 76 days before the election. Kennedy, on the other hand, has encountered a series of obstacles that have made it difficult for his name and Shanahan to appear on the ballots in all 50 states.
Kennedy has cleared the stumbling blocks in three of the seven swing states in 2024. One of them is Arizona, where he will give what is presumed to be a farewell address. This will be at 11:00 a.m. in Phoenix. Donald Trump has scheduled the same event at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, just a few miles away, in the suburb of Glendale. RFK Jr. has also had access to the ballot in Michigan and North Carolina, where Harris and the former president are practically tied. The independent has 2% of voting intention in these states, according to recent polls.
The independent lost another chance Tuesday to register in Pennsylvania, another crucial territory. Kennedy arrived almost two hours late to a court in Harrisburg, where he was to defend his right to be on the ballot in a hearing. Two Democratic supporters filed a lawsuit alleging that there were inconsistencies in his registration form and in the signatures that the campaign gathered to complete the process. Kennedy’s lawyer said the delay was caused by adjustments to the candidate’s flight, which he had flown from Boston. The campaign has other similar cases open in states such as Arizona and New York, where a judge has already ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, also Democratic activists.
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“I think if we had a fair chance, we could have won,” Shanahan said with a hint of bitterness on the podcast. Impact Theory. The vice presidential candidate, who has a fortune of $1 billion, has been one of the main donors to his campaign. In the chat posted on YouTube, she said that she could focus on the California contests in 2026, when the most populous state in the country will elect a new governor, and on the presidential election in 2028.
Kennedy’s aspirations do not enjoy the support of the clan. In fact, on Tuesday, Jack Schlossberg, grandson of former President John F. Kennedy and son of John John, who died 25 years ago, spoke at the Democratic convention. Schlossberg showed his family’s support for Harris’ candidacy.
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