Trump rallies with Kennedy

On Friday afternoon, former Congressman Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his independent presidential campaign and endorsed former President Donald J. Trump (R). On Friday night, Kennedy joined Trump at a rally in Arizona where Trump said that Kennedy's support will have a "huge" impact on the campaign.

"We are both in this to do what's right for the country," Trump said. "He is a phenomenal person, a phenomenal man who loves the people of this country."

"I think he's going to have a huge influence on this campaign," Trump said. "For the past 16 months, Bobby has run an extraordinary campaign for president of the United States. I know because he also went after me a couple of times."

Trump was elected in 2016 largely by luring disaffected blue-collar Democrats to join his campaign, growing the Republican Party beyond its historic constituencies. This merging of the Trump and Kennedy constituencies is another attempt by Trump to grow his base and present the bigger tent party. If the three to five percent of voters, who were supporting Kennedy in polls this summer, actually do vote for Trump it greatly increases his chances of recapturing the White House after losing it four years early – a feat last accomplished by Grover Cleveland (D) in the 1880s.

Kennedy is a noted environmentalist who believes that Americans' chronic health conditions: food allergies, obesity, autism, auto-immune disorders are related to environmental contamination and the highly processed food that Americans consume. Trump indicated that the next Trump administration would look at these issues and has promised Kennedy a role in that administration.

Kennedy, a lifelong Democrat, had originally sought to run against Joe Biden in the Democratic primary season; but Biden and his loyalists at the state party level quickly manipulated the rules of state contests to prevent there from being debates or any competition this primary year as they did not want Biden challenged. Kennedy then launched an independent bid for the Presidency.

Kennedy met with Trump during the Republican National Convention.

Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-California) said Friday that if Kennedy had debated Biden – the cognitively declining Biden would have been exposed much sooner. The first time Biden did debate, he was thoroughly embarrassed both by Trump and his own inability to present coherent arguments. Biden plummeted in the polls and Democrats revolted eventually forcing Biden to give up the campaign in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden has subsequently endorsed.

Several members of the large extended Kennedy family have publicly condemned Kennedy's endorsement of Trump. Kennedy's uncle John was President from 1961 to 1963 and his father was a leading contender for President in 1968. Both had their lives cut short by an assassin's bullet.

In another nod to RFK Jr., Trump promised to form a commission on assassinations to investigate previous assassination attempts including the attempt on Trump's life last month. Trump also promised to release all documents still classified in the Kennedy assassinations.

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