NewsNational NewsScripps News

Actions

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears with Trump at Arizona rally after suspending his campaign

"Don't you want a president who's going to protect America's freedoms? And who's going to protect us against totalitarianism?" RFK asked.
Election 2024 Trump
Posted
and last updated

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who suspended his campaign on Friday, appeared alongside Donald Trump at a rally in Glendale, Arizona.

Kennedy, who endorsed Trump on Friday, said he had begun talking with Trump earlier during the campaign on issues such as food safety, foreign policy and domestic investment.

"We talked not about the things that separate us — because we don't agree on everything — but on the values and the issues that bind us together," Kennedy said.

"Don't you want a president who's going to get us out of the wars and who's going to rebuild the middle class in this country?" he asked.

"Don't you want a president who's going to protect America's freedoms? And who's going to protect us against totalitarianism?"

At the rally, Trump said he would establish an expert panel who would work with RFK Jr. to address the increase in Americans' chronic and childhood health problems.

Trump also said he planned to open an independent presidential commission on assassination attempts that would release documents related to the assassination of JFK and make a "rigorous review" of the assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania earlier this year.

RELATED STORY | Trump campaigns on the US-Mexico border, drawing a contrast to Harris' policies

Earlier in the day, Trump told supporters in Las Vegas he would stick to his campaign promise to eliminate taxes on tips for service workers — a policy point that Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has also embraced.

“In our case, we mean it,” Trump said. “Somebody I know just copied it. You know that’s not going to happen.”

Kennedy's campaign suspension leaves Trump and Harris as the two major candidates who will move on to the general election in November. Kennedy said he would remove his name from the ballot in battleground states.

While Kennedy endorsed former President Donald Trump, he encouraged his supporters to still vote for him in states where his name is still on the ballot.

"I want to thank Bobby. That was very nice," Trump said on Friday of Kennedy's endorsement. "That was really very nice. That's big."

According to an average of polls from the website 538, Kennedy is averaging 4.7% in national polls, behind Harris who is at 47.2% and Trump who is at 43.5%.

RELATED STORY | RFK Jr. suspends presidential campaign, endorses former President Trump