Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is planning to drop out of the presidential race on Friday and endorse former President Donald Trump, according to two sources familiar with the plans.
Sources have said talks are ongoing but added the campaigns are working toward a joint appearance.
Kennedy announced Wednesday that he will give a campaign speech addressing “his path forward,” days after his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, said the campaign faced a choice about staying in the election.
Kennedy’s campaign announced he will hold the event in Phoenix on Friday — the same day Trump is scheduled to be in Phoenix.
Trump’s eldest son, Donald Jr., former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and wealthy donor Omeed Malik have all been attempting to sway Kennedy to endorse Trump, the source said.
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kennedy slammed the Democratic convention and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in an interview with ABC News, who was first to report of Kennedy exiting the race.
“She went in four weeks from being the worst liability for the Democratic Party to the second coming of Christ without giving one interview, without showing up for a debate, without a single policy that anyone thinks isn’t ridiculous,” he said. “It’s not democracy.”
Trump told CNN that he would be open to Kennedy’s joining his administration if he is elected
“I know the president’s been working hard for that, but it’s completely separate from whether RFK gets a Cabinet position,” Trump’s running mate, JD Vance said. “It’s about welcoming a lot of those Democrats who feel abandoned by the party of Kamala Harris.”
Kennedy has faced tough polling in recent months, plagued by scandals of groping allegations from a former family babysitter to the bizarre story that Kennedy picked up a bear cub in New York and left it in Central Park to die.
