Robert F. Kennedy Jr. the strongest third-party US presidential candidate in a generation, has reportedly decided to leave the race and cash in his chips – with Donald Trump.
The eccentric, conspiracy-minded, anti-corporate crusader – best known for his vaccine skepticism – polls around 5% nationally and in key swing states. He has drawn outsized support from Black, Latino, and young voters.
RFK Jr. is expected to formally announce his withdrawal in a big speech in Arizona on Friday and is in talks with the Trump campaign about a formal endorsement. Trump, who is also campaigning from the Grand Canyon state that day, has said he’d be open to giving RFK a position in his administration if he wins.
How will this affect the race? RFK’s endorsement would certainly counterprogram the climax of the DNC and could deliver Trump a few extra points worth of voters that he’ll need in a tight election. Polling has consistently shown RFK drawing more Trump-leaning voters than Biden-leaning ones.
Still, bringing aboard RFK – a conspiracy-theory aficionado whose brain has been eaten by a worm and who recently admitted to a bizarre bear-killing cover-up – could also play into one of the Democrats’ main strategies, says Clayton Allen, the US director at Eurasia Group.
“If he joins the Trump campaign,” says Allen, “that may exacerbate the Democrats’ “weird” attacks.”