The Trump campaign seemed to go all out for his entrance, with Kennedy walking down a red carpet as pyrotechnics lit up the stage and the Foo Fighters’ 1997 hit “My Hero” played in the background.
In his introduction, Trump announced plans to establish an independent presidential commission on assassination attempts, which would be tasked with releasing all remaining documents related to the assassination of JFK, Kennedy’s uncle. He also acknowledged Kennedy’s advocacy for investigating chronic health issues in children.
Trump then handed the stage over to Kennedy, who was greeted with a roaring “Bobby” chant.
Kennedy, who mentioned he would withdraw from most swing state ballots but remain on some, recounted his earlier meetings with Trump where they discussed their shared priorities. These core agreements, which Kennedy cited as reasons for endorsing Trump, included “having safe food and ending the chronic disease epidemic” and their mutual desire to “end the grip of neocons on foreign policy.”
Kennedy quoted Trump, saying, “He said he didn’t want any more $200 billion wars in Ukraine; we can use that in the United States,” which drew applause from the crowd.
In one of his most supportive remarks of the night, Kennedy pointed to Trump and asked, “Don’t you want a president who is gonna get out of the wars and going to rebuild the middle class in this country?”
Kennedy explained his endorsement of Trump as a result of being blocked by Democrats in his pursuit of ballot access as an independent, as well as in his earlier bid for the Democratic nomination.
He closed his speech by echoing one of their shared goals, reworking the “Make America Great Again” slogan: “Don’t you want a president that’s gonna make America healthy again?”
