Why RFK Jr. Endorsed Trump
In the spring of 2023, not long after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched his chaotic presidential campaign, I asked him a straightforward question. What do you see as more harmful to America: another term of Joe Biden, or Donald Trump returning to power? I cant answer that, Kennedy replied.
This morning, Kennedy finally stopped being cagey. He announced that he was suspending his campaign and throwing his support to Trump. During a rambling, nearly hour-long speech at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Phoenix, Kennedy shared that the two had been talking for more than a month, and that he had visited the former president at Mar-a-Lago. In a series of long, intense discussions, I was surprised to discover that we are aligned on many key issues, Kennedy said. He correctly noted that his announcement would cause difficulty for his family members. Our brother Bobbys decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and family hold most dear, five Kennedys said in a statement this afternoon. It is a sad ending to a sad story.
Kennedys evolution from member of a Democratic dynasty to a soldier in the anti-democratic MAGA movement will no doubt confuse casual observers. Trump once called Kennedy the dumbest member of his famous family, and Kennedy once suggested that Trump was a sociopath. The main reason for Kennedys conversion may be pure desperation. This summer, Kennedy made overtures to both major-party candidates; only Trump reciprocated. But the Trump-Kennedy pairing makes a certain kind of sense. To be sure, Kennedy doesnt share Trumps anti-immigrant sentiment, nor does he lean on white-identity politics or nationalism. Instead, its Kennedys conspiratorial, anti-establishment, burn-it-down ethos that makes him fit into the MAGA universe.
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At the hotel, I noticed Jim Hoft, the founder of the far-right website The Gateway Pundit, sitting in the front row, just a few feet from the stage. I think itll be huge, Hoft said of Kennedys Trump endorsement. I align with Robert, probably, on a majority of topicsits just interesting how thats playing out right now. I think hes a natural ally for Trump. I think its going to help Trump tremendously.
As Kennedy lashed out against the Democratic Party this afternoon, he sounded like a jilted lover searching for answers. He noted that he had attended his first Democratic National Convention at the age of 6, in 1960. And he attempted to draw a contrast between the party of his father and uncle, and todays shadowy DNC operatives who staged a palace coup against Joe Biden. The Democratic establishment, he claimed, had weaponized government agencies against him and his campaign. He accused Biden of colluding with media companies to censor him and bemoaned his relative lack of cable-news interviews. He also sounded daft. In an honest system, I believe that I would have won the election, Kennedy said.
Three key factors forced Kennedys withdrawal. The first and most obvious was money. Despite tapping Nicole Shanahan, the wealthy Silicon Valley businesswoman, to be his running mate, Kennedys fundraising had recently dried up. Recent FEC filings showed that his campaign had just $3.9 million on hand at the end of July. The second factor was ballot access. Nick Brana, the campaigns ballot-access director, told me that, as of today, the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket was certified in only 22 states. Kennedy was disqualified from the New York ballot after a recent court case, making the goal of all 50 states a virtual impossibility. The third factor was perhaps the most obvious: His core proposition had become moot once Biden dropped out.
All along, Kennedys pitch had relied on the fact that a sizable chunk of voters didnt want a Biden-Trump rematch. But after Harris took Bidens place as the nominee, she began to win back some of the disaffected Democrats, independents, and undecideds who had parked their support in the Kennedy column. Kennedys polling average had fallen to about 5 percent, from a 2024 high of about 10 percent. Kennedy shared that his teams polling showed him drawing more votes from Trump than from Harris in battleground statessomething outside pollsters had confirmed to me earlier this month.
My conversations with Kennedy confidants, staffers, and supporters before and after the event painted a murky picture of whats next for his movement. Jeffrey Rose, Kennedys friend of 30 years, had tears in his eyes as we spoke. The DNC invited this, Rose said. As a Democrat, its not easy for me. I asked him if he planned to follow Kennedys directive and vote for Trump. What choice do I have? he replied. Rose was among the Kennedy allies who would soon head to the nearby Trump rally, where Kennedy would be the special guest. Daniel Adams, who had helped raise money for Kennedys super PAC, American Values, told me that he expected most RFK Jr. supporters to pivot to Trump, but acknowledged that Trumps vaccine policy had been a source of dissatisfaction. Casey Westerman, a 38-year-old supporter in a blue Kennedy hat, told me she had voted for Trump in 2020 and 2016, and had been drawn to Kennedy this cycle because of his messages about the corporate capture of the CDC and the FDA. I trust Kennedy, Westerman said. Whoever he chooses to support is who Ill support.
Others were less committed. Dicky Barrett, the former lead singer of the 1990s ska band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, was milling about the room with a look of resignation on his face. In the world as it currently is, nothing surprises me anymore, Barrett told me. What I wanted ultimately, and still want, is for Bobby to be the 47th president of the United States. Anything short of that, I havent properly processed. Barrett said he did not want Kennedy to endorse Trump. I have great admiration, huge respect, and a lot of love for Bobby Kennedy. He was there for me when I needed himI dont have that for the other candidates in this race. Even remotely.
Drea de Matteo, whod won an Emmy for her role as Adriana on The Sopranos, was among those scheduled to partake in a star-studded sunset cruise with Kennedy and his wife, Cheryl Hines, next week in Southern California. Today she was in Phoenix to lend her support. De Matteo told me that shes a lifelong liberal but described herself as anti-government. She said she had never voted before 2020, when she voted for Biden, which had been a huge mistake. I dont know what Im going to do yet, she said of her 2024 plans. Im gonna go to this rally today, and Ill make up my mind. (It would be her first Trump rally.) I think most Americans want an independent candidate now, because no one believes in either party, she added. Kennedy, she said, had been completely, for lack of a better word, cock-blocked by the DNC. She told me she was at least willing to hear Trump out.
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Kennedys campaign was built on contradictions. Although he has one of the most recognizable names in politics, he pitched himself as a benevolent outsider, a unifier, and often leaned into something akin to earthy mysticism. I interviewed him at length both this year and last year. He would be admirably candid one minute and obfuscate or lie the next (especially when discussing his record on vaccines). He would draw false equivalencies and peddle misinformation. On the stump, Kennedy used to talk about the divisions that seemed to be cutting American society into pieces. It doesnt have to be this way, hed say. Now, sticking to his contradictory theme, hes thrown in his lot with the most divisive figure in recent history.
At the Trump rally tonight, Kennedy walked out to Foo Fighters stadium-rock anthem My Hero and shook Trumps hand. The crowd roared. Not too long ago, Kennedy had called Trump a terrible human being. Tonight he bent the knee, asking, Dont you want a president whos going to protect Americas freedoms and who is going to protect us against totalitarianism?
Like the man hes just endorsed,Kennedy has an outsize ego and a tenuous grasp of reality, and is given to bizarre turns of phrase. The naysayers told us that we were climbing a glass version of Mount Impossible, Kennedy said at the Renaissance Hotel today. Shortly thereafter, he suggested that he could still become president as the result of a contingent election, if no candidate received the requisite 270 electoral votes. This is a spiritual journey for me, Kennedy said. He may not believe its over, but the ending has come into view. Was it worth the trek?
