Who is Robert F Kennedy Jr, the independent candidate who ended his US presidential campaign and endorsed Donald Trump?

Amid widespread speculations, independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also known as RFK Jr., suspended his campaign on Friday. Kennedy said his internal polls had shown that his presence in the race would hurt Trump and help Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, though recent public polls don¡¯t provide a clear indication that he is having an outsized impact on support for either major-party candidate.

CREDIT: REUTERS

'Didn't want to be a spoiler candidate'

On suspending his campaign, Kennedy said he had pledged to leave the race if he ¡°became a spoiler¡± ¡ª a candidate with no path to victory who could nonetheless alter the outcome of the election.

¡°In my heart, I no longer believe I have a realistic path to electoral victory, in the face of this relentless, systematic censorship and media control,¡± he said.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Address to the Nation https://t.co/Wf4xt12GSX

¡ª Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) August 23, 2024

RFK Jr. endorses Donald Trump

RFK Jr. also endorsed Republican candidate Donald Trump and said that the former President had asked to enlist him in his second administration.

Hours later, Kennedy joined Trump onstage at an Arizona rally, where the crowd burst into ¡°Bobby!¡± cheers.

Who is Robert F. Kennedy Jr?

RFK Jr., whose full name is Robert Francis Kennedy Jr., comes from arguably the most famous political family in the US, the Kennedy family.

CREDIT: REUTERS

One of his uncles, John F. Kennedy, was the 35th US President, while another, Ted Kennedy, was a senator.

RFK Jr.'s father, Robert F. Kennedy Sr., was also a senator and also served as the U.S. attorney general.

Like his father, RFK Jr. also started as a lawyer and made a name for himself as an environmental campaigner. However, in the early 2000s, he became a vaccine skeptic and promoted anti-vaccine misinformation and public health conspiracy theories. He continued to spread medical misinformation and vaccine skepticism throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as well.

Also read: Robert Kennedy Jr to drop out of US Presidential Election, 'will help Kamala Harris,' says prediction expert

How RFK Jr broke ranks with Kennedy family

RFK Jr. was the first of his generation of the Kennedy family to enter politics. Kennedy's family had largely withdrawn from politics following the assassination of JFK in 1963 and RFK Sr. in 1968.

CREDIT: REUTERS

However, unlike other members of the Kennedy family, who were Democrats, RFK Jr. had a falling out with the party and was running his US Presidential campaign as an independent candidate backed by the Libertarian Party.

'Betrayal of family's principles'

RFK Jr.'s decision to drop out and endorse Trump has also gone against the family¡¯s line.

RFK Jr.'s sister Kerry Kennedy termed the move and described it as a betrayal of their family's fundamental principles.

I am sharing a personal statement that my family and I have made in response to my brother¡¯s announcement. pic.twitter.com/j7vTTabNYZ

¡ª Kerry Kennedy (@KerryKennedyRFK) August 23, 2024

¡°Our brother Bobby's decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story,¡± Kerry Kennedy, who shared the family's statement, which also endorsed the Harris-Walz campaign, said.

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