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CV NEWS FEED // Multiple sources on Wednesday indicated that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to end his campaign for the White House and is likely to endorse Republican nominee former President Donald Trump.
The reports come shortly after Kennedy’s running mate Nicole Shanahan stated on a podcast that their campaign was weighing two options: staying in the race, or exiting to back Trump.
ABC News reported Wednesday afternoon that sources informed them Kennedy is “planning to drop out of the presidential race by the end of this week.” The sources added that Kennedy “plans to endorse Donald Trump.”
Kennedy told ABC that he would neither confirm nor deny the reports, adding: “We are not talking about any of that.”
“Sources cautioned the decision is not yet finalized and could still change,” ABC continued, “with one source adding that Kennedy’s hope is, in part, to finalize things quickly in order to try to blunt momentum from the Democratic National Convention.”
“One possible scenario being discussed is for Kennedy to appear on stage with Trump at an event in Phoenix on Friday,” ABC added.
>> RFK’S RUNNING MATE WEIGHS POSSIBILITY OF ENDORSING TRUMP <<
NBC News reported: “Kennedy announced Wednesday that he will give a campaign speech addressing ‘his path forward.’”
“Kennedy’s campaign announced he will hold the event in Phoenix on Friday,” NBC noted. “Trump, meanwhile, is also set to host an event on Friday night, in Glendale, a Phoenix suburb.”
The candidate’s “decision to drop out will end the most prominent third-party candidacy in the 2024 race,” NBC’s report added.
In an interview that aired Tuesday, Shanahan told podcast host Tom Bilyeu that there are “two options” she and Kennedy are “looking at.”
“One is staying in and forming [a] new party,” Kennedy’s running mate said. “Or, we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump.”
In an X (formerly Twitter) post last week, Kennedy wrote: “I have no plans to endorse [Democratic presidential nominee] Kamala Harris for President. I do have a plan to defeat her.”
“VP Harris’s Democratic Party would be unrecognizable to my father [Sen. Robert F. Kennedy] and uncle [President John F. Kennedy] and I cannot reconcile it with my values,” the now-independent stated in the same post.
>> RFK DENOUNCES HARRIS, DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY <<
At one point, Kennedy had the strongest showing in polls of any independent presidential candidate since Ross Perot three decades ago.
Kennedy is a former lifelong Democrat. He left the party to announce an independent presidential run in October 2023. He was previously challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination and was consistently polling in the double digits.
Shanahan is also a former lifelong member of the Democratic Party, and until fairly recently was a prolific donor to left-wing candidates and causes.
If Kennedy and Shanahan endorse Trump, they will not be the first prominent former Democrats to back the 2024 Republican nominee.
Former four-term Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is also backing Trump. While in Congress, Gabbard was a member of the left-wing Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Once a rising star in the Democratic Party, Gabbard sought its presidential nomination in 2020. During a primary debate, an exchange between Gabbard and fellow candidate Harris went viral. Gabbard sharply criticized Harris’ record on crime policy in the exchange.
Observers widely agree that Gabbard’s criticisms of Harris helped end the then-senator’s faltering first presidential campaign.
Gabbard is now helping Trump prepare for his upcoming debates against Harris.
