Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received an electric ovation during former President Donald Trump’s Arizona rally on Friday, which took place just hours after Kennedy suspended his campaign in swing states and endorsed former President Donald Trump.
Former President Trump took the stage not long after 4 p.m. Western Time on Friday after teasing a “special guest” just a day earlier. Kennedy was widely expected to be the special guest, which was confirmed just after 4:30 p.m., when he walked out to a Foo Fighters hit before joining the former president on stage
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His entrance was met with chants of “Bobby, Bobby” and “USA” before former President Trump listed a number of policy platforms he will be adopting from the Kennedy Campaign.
In one example, Trump vowed to form a commission aimed at investigating presidential assassinations, including the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. He also promised to work with Kennedy to tackle obesity and the epidemic of chronic diseases plaguing the United States, something that has long been a major part of Kennedy’s Campaign and activist efforts.
“Soon after I was, I can’t even believe I have to say this, nearly assassinated in Pennsylvania last month, Bobby called me to express his best wishes. He knows firsthand the risks incurred by leaders who stand up to the corrupt political establishment. When you stand up, you bring on some trouble for yourself, but you have to do what’s right,” Trump told the crowd at the Turning Point USA conference.
“He lost his father and uncle in service to our country, and Bobby himself was subject to repeated threats to his safety during the course of his campaign while being denied protection by the Harris-Biden administration. And this is a tribute in honor of Bobby. I am announcing tonight that upon my election, I will establish a new independent presidential commission,” the former president continued, adding that the commission will be tasked with releasing all documents relating to the Kennedy assassination.
The historic rally comes just hours after Kennedy suspended his presidential campaign during a campaign event in Phoenix. In a lengthy speech, Kennedy thanked volunteers before announcing that he will be suspending his campaign in swing states, though he did note that he intends to stay on the ballot in solid blue or solid red states.
An emotional Kennedy proceeded to disavow the modern iteration of the Democratic Party, the party of his father and uncle, President John F. Kennedy. RFK Jr. stated that his uncle and father would be disgusted with the current Democratic Party and their means of attaining and holding power, noting that Vice President Harris has yet to sit for a single interview or press conference in more than 30 days.
Kennedy also noted that Harris was selected without a single vote cast in her favor, something he slammed as “undemocratic.”
“As you know, I left that party in October because it had departed so dramatically from the core values that I grew up with. It had become the party of war, censorship, corruption, big pharma, big tech, big [agriculture], and big money,” the former Democrat said. “It abandoned democracy by cancelling the primary to cancel the cognitive decline of the sitting president.”
It remains to be seen whether Kennedy’s exit from the race will provide a boost to the former president’s re-election bid, though Trump Campaign advisors have shared data suggesting that it will. In a memo shared shortly after the endorsement, the campaign shared data showing a majority of Kennedy voters breaking for Trump in every swing state.
“To put these numbers into perspective, the net vote gained in a states like Arizona based on just a 2020 turnout model would be over 41,000 votes nearly 4 times Biden’s winning margin or in Georgia the net gain. would be over 19,000 votes nearly twice Biden’s margin,” the memo reads.
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