After suspending his independent presidential campaign in August and endorsing former President Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged to remove his name from ballots in states that could influence the outcome of the election. However, he missed the deadline to withdraw in Michigan, a key state where Trump won by a narrow margin of 10,000 votes in 2016.
Last week, a federal judge dismissed Kennedy’s final legal attempt to have his name removed, following a similar ruling from the Michigan Supreme Court.
“My name is going to appear on the Michigan ballot, but I don’t want you to vote for me,” Kennedy told supporters at a rally near Grand Rapids. “I want you to vote for Donald J. Trump.”
During his 30-minute speech introducing Trump, Kennedy expressed frustration over Democratic efforts to block him from the ballot prior to his campaign suspension. Initially thought to be a potential spoiler for Trump, Kennedy instead appeared to draw votes away from Vice President Kamala Harris as well.
“The Democratic Party spent tens of millions of dollars to defame me, to punish perjuries against me, to publish fake news against me, to marginalize me, to make me look like a crazy person,” Kennedy said at the rally.
Despite Trump’s past criticisms of Kennedy, calling him a “radical left liberal” and “Democrat plant,” Kennedy mentioned that Trump had privately sought his endorsement and even hinted at a possible role for him in a future Trump administration. On Friday, Kennedy remarked that the only way he could “get to Washington, D.C.” was if Trump won in November. Known for his outspoken views on vaccines and the food industry, Kennedy has previously shown interest in taking on a health-related position under Trump.
Trump’s rally came shortly after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York. While the two leaders posed for cameras, Kennedy speculated that Trump was inwardly furious over U.S. financial support for Ukraine’s war with Russia.
“I know what he was thinking during that meeting: ‘I want to turn this guy over and shake him by the legs and shake all the money out of his pockets,’” Kennedy said, referring to the aid sent to Ukraine. “We need to bring that money home.”
Though Trump briefly mentioned the meeting, calling it a “good meeting,” he had criticized Zelensky two days earlier at a rally in North Carolina, accusing him of “making little nasty aspersions” toward Trump after Zelensky suggested in a New Yorker interview that Trump’s plan to end the war was merely a campaign slogan.
Kennedy concluded his remarks by explaining why he chose to endorse Trump, emphasizing his connection to Trump’s anti-establishment message and opposition to foreign wars. Trump later acknowledged Kennedy’s endorsement, calling it “a big deal” and stating, “He’s a good man. He’s a good man.”
Later on Friday, Trump planned to hold another event in Michigan, focusing on the state’s auto industry. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris was in Arizona, making her first trip to the border since becoming the Democratic nominee for president. Harris was expected to accuse Trump of sabotaging a Senate border security deal, a claim Trump had called a “lie” earlier in Michigan.
