Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr said on Friday he would suspend his campaign, and endorsed Republican Donald Trump. Robert, the nephew of former President John F Kennedy and the son of Senior Robert F Kennedy, projected himself as an alternative to Donald Trump for the Republican Party in the US. And despite his persistently poor polling numbers, Mr Kennedy was regularly featured in the news cycle, often for bizarre reasons.

Before suspending his White House bid and endorsing the former US President, Ms Kennedy ran a campaign filled with what many have described as outrageous moments.

Brain worm

In May, The New York Times reported that Mr Kennedy believed he had a brain tumor, which was actually the work of a hungry parasite. In a 2012 deposition during divorce proceedings from his second wife, he said that a physician thought an anomaly in his brain scans “was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died.” He indicated that he had been suffering from extreme mental haze and memory loss, which had reduced his earning potential.

Kennedy’s response to sexual assault allegations

In July, a Vanity Fair piece claimed that Mr Kennedy sexually assaulted a former babysitter for the family. Mr Kennedy’s response to the accusations can hardly be considered an apology. During his appearance on the podcast Breaking Point, he said, “The [Vanity Fair] article is a lot of garbage. Listen, I have said this from the beginning. I am not a church boy. I am not running like that.” Later, he claimed to have texted Cooney to express regret for his actions.

Eating dogs

The same article featured a photo of Mr Kennedy grinning and pretending to bite on what looked like a grilled dog carcass. In an interview with News Nation, he said that the image was actually of a goat they were going to eat. He said, “I’m a very adventurous eater, I’ll eat virtually anything. There are two things I wouldn’t eat — well, three. I wouldn’t eat a human, I wouldn’t eat a monkey, and I wouldn’t eat a dog. I think I’d eat something else.”

Kennedy said he “won’t take sides on 9/11”

Mr Kennedy declared that should he be elected president, he “wouldn’t take sides on 9/11” and would be transparent on social media. He claimed his statement was inspired by a “60 Minutes” report on a theory that the Saudi government knew about the plot in advance. He continued, saying, “It’s hard to tell what is a conspiracy theory and what isn’t.” He has previously floated other conspiracy theories about vaccinations, AIDS, and the murder of his uncle.

My take on 9/11: It’s hard to tell what is a conspiracy theory and what isn’t. But conspiracy theories flourish when the government routinely lies to the public. As President I won’t take sides on 9/11 or any of the other debates. But I can promise is that I will open the files…

— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) July 5, 2024

The bear cub

In August, The New Yorker magazine got hold of a story about Mr Kennedy’s adventures with a dead bear cub, 10 years ago. To get ahead of the New Yorker’s scoop, Mr Kennedy shared the story on Twitter. The tale revealed that Kennedy had discovered a dead bear cub by the side of the road, he then loaded it into the back of his car, snapped a picture with the body, went to do some falconry and had dinner of steak. However, before leaving for the airport, he used the bear’s body to stage a death resembling a bicycle hit-and-run incident in NYC’s Central Park.