U.S. Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump shakes hands with Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a campaign rally on August 23, 2024, in Glendale, Arizona, U.S.A.
| Photo Credit: AP

Donald Trump has added former White House hopefuls Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard to his transition team if he wins November’s U.S. presidential election, his campaign said on Tuesday (August 27, 2024).

Mr. Kennedy and Ms. Gabbard hail from outside the Republican party sphere where former President Trump draws most of his support.

“As President Trump’s broad coalition of supporters and endorsers expands across partisan lines, we are proud that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard have been added to the Trump/Vance Transition team,” Mr. Trump campaign senior advisor Brian Hughes said in a statement.

Mr. Kennedy, 70, an environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine activist and descendent of a Democratic political dynasty, was running as an independent presidential candidate until he suspended his campaign last week and endorsed Mr. Trump. He joined the race for the White House as a Democratic challenger to Biden before switching to run as an independent.

A former Democratic congresswoman, Ms. Gabbard ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. She left the party in 2022 to become an independent. Increasingly critical of Mr. Biden and his administration, she is now popular among conservatives, frequently appearing as a guest on far-right TV and radio shows.

In an interview posted on X on Monday, Mr. Kennedy told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson he had been asked to join Mr. Trump’s transition team “to help pick the people who will be running the government.”

In exchange for endorsing Mr. Trump, Mr. Kennedy is hoping for a job in a potential Trump administration, a super PAC supporting Mr. Kennedy told Reuters last week.

Strategists have said it was unclear how Mr. Kennedy’s endorsement would help Mr. Trump, who is in a tight contest with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

Voter interest in Mr. Kennedy waned this summer as Mr. Trump survived an assassination attempt and Mr. Biden passed the campaign torch to Ms. Harris.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Friday he would suspend his campaign, and endorsed Republican Donald Trump, likely ending a presidential bid that he began as a Democrat trading on one of the most famous names in American politics.

His campaign indicated that he feared staying in the race would siphon support from former President Trump, who is locked in a tight contest with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

An environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine activist and son and nephew of two titans of Democratic politics who were assassinated during the turbulent 1960s, Kennedy entered the race in April 2023 as a challenger to President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination.

With voters at the time turned off by both the aging Biden and the legally embattled Trump, interest in Kennedy soared. He shifted his plans and decided to run as an independent, and a November 2023 Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Kennedy drawing the support of 20% of Americans in a three-way race with Biden and Trump.

He ran a high-profile advertisement during the February 2024 Super Bowl that invoked his father, US Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and uncle, US President John F. Kennedy, and drew outrage from much of his high-profile family, who condemned his campaign.

For a time, both the Biden and Trump campaigns showed signs they were worried that Kennedy could draw enough support to change the election outcome. He faced an uphill battle in winning spots on the ballot as an independent but secured key positions including in Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota and North Carolina — half of the competitive swing states expected to determine the election’s outcome.

But as the race changed quickly in the last two months — with Trump surviving an assassination attempt and the 81-year-old Biden bowing to pressure from his own party and passing the campaign torch to Harris — voter interest in Kennedy, 70, waned. 

An Ipsos poll early this month showed his national support had fallen to 4%, a tiny number, but one that could still be meaningful in a tight race such as the current Trump-Harris matchup.

His campaign had signaled over the past few days that a change was coming, as Kennedy set his Phoenix address. His running mate Nicole Shanahan said in an interview earlier that if the pair stayed in the race as independents, they could ultimate boost Harris’ chances.

In exchange for endorsing Trump, Kennedy was hoping for a job in a potential Trump administration, a super PAC supporting Kennedy told Reuters on Wednesday. He also wanted Trump to allow his political movement to continue in some fashion, which could include staying on the ballot in some states.

Kennedy painted himself as a political outsider. He told Reuters in an interview in March that if elected president he would not restrict abortion, would repeal many provisions of Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act and would seek to close down the southern border to immigrants entering the US illegally. He also offered staunch support for Israel.

Trump mega-donor Timothy Mellon, an 82-year-old banking heir, has given millions of dollars this election cycle in support of Kennedy, and given $75 million in support of Trump, according to Federal Election Commission filings through July 31.

Shanahan has donated over $15 million to the Kennedy campaign, FEC filings showed. 

In a video of a phone call posted online last month, Trump suggested to Kennedy that the independent candidate could do something to support the Trump campaign. Soon after, both candidates spoke a day apart from each other at a bitcoin conference in Nashville, trying to court votes.

BEAR, BRAIN WORMS  

Kennedy said this month in a video posted online that he dumped a dead bear in New York City’s Central Park a decade ago and staged it to look like a bike had hit it. He proclaimed he had “so many skeletons in my closet” after a former family babysitter accused him of sexual assault. He denied that a picture of him posing with the barbecued carcass of a large animal belonged to a canine.

And then there was the brain worm. Kennedy had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has since fully recovered, a fact unearthed by the New York Times and confirmed by the campaign. 

Those stories prompted ridicule from late-night talk show hosts.

The Democratic Party especially has been ruthless in their opposition to Kennedy’s candidacy including waging legal challenges against his ballot access, as concern grew that Kennedy could hurt the party’s chances in November. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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.

Washington:

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Friday he would suspend his campaign, and endorsed Republican Donald Trump, likely ending a presidential bid that he began as a Democrat trading on one of the most famous names in American politics.

His campaign indicated that he feared staying in the race would siphon support from former President Trump, who is locked in a tight contest with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

An environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine activist and son and nephew of two titans of Democratic politics who were assassinated during the turbulent 1960s, Kennedy entered the race in April 2023 as a challenger to President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination.

With voters at the time turned off by both the aging Biden and the legally embattled Trump, interest in Kennedy soared. He shifted his plans and decided to run as an independent, and a November 2023 Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Kennedy drawing the support of 20% of Americans in a three-way race with Biden and Trump.

He ran a high-profile advertisement during the February 2024 Super Bowl that invoked his father, U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and uncle, U.S. President John F. Kennedy, and drew outrage from much of his high-profile family, who condemned his campaign.

For a time, both the Biden and Trump campaigns showed signs they were worried that Kennedy could draw enough support to change the election outcome. He faced an uphill battle in winning spots on the ballot as an independent but secured key positions including in Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota and North Carolina — half of the competitive swing states expected to determine the election’s outcome.

But as the race changed quickly in the last two months — with Trump surviving an assassination attempt and the 81-year-old Biden bowing to pressure from his own party and passing the campaign torch to Harris — voter interest in Kennedy, 70, waned.

An Ipsos poll early this month showed his national support had fallen to 4%, a tiny number, but one that could still be meaningful in a tight race such as the current Trump-Harris matchup.

His campaign had signaled over the past few days that a change was coming, as Kennedy set his Phoenix address. His running mate Nicole Shanahan said in an interview earlier that if the pair stayed in the race as independents, they could ultimate boost Harris’ chances.

In exchange for endorsing Trump, Kennedy was hoping for a job in a potential Trump administration, a super PAC supporting Kennedy told Reuters on Wednesday. He also wanted Trump to allow his political movement to continue in some fashion, which could include staying on the ballot in some states.

Kennedy painted himself as a political outsider. He told Reuters in an interview in March that if elected president he would not restrict abortion, would repeal many provisions of Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act and would seek to close down the southern border to immigrants entering the U.S. illegally. He also offered staunch support for Israel.

Trump mega-donor Timothy Mellon, an 82-year-old banking heir, has given millions of dollars this election cycle in support of Kennedy, and given $75 million in support of Trump, according to Federal Election Commission filings through July 31.

Shanahan has donated over $15 million to the Kennedy campaign, FEC filings showed.

In a video of a phone call posted online last month, Trump suggested to Kennedy that the independent candidate could do something to support the Trump campaign. Soon after, both candidates spoke a day apart from each other at a bitcoin conference in Nashville, trying to court votes.

BEAR, BRAIN WORMS  

Kennedy said this month in a video posted online that he dumped a dead bear in New York City’s Central Park a decade ago and staged it to look like a bike had hit it. He proclaimed he had “so many skeletons in my closet” after a former family babysitter accused him of sexual assault. He denied that a picture of him posing with the barbecued carcass of a large animal belonged to a canine.

And then there was the brain worm. Kennedy had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has since fully recovered, a fact unearthed by the New York Times and confirmed by the campaign.

Those stories prompted ridicule from late-night talk show hosts.

The Democratic Party especially has been ruthless in their opposition to Kennedy’s candidacy including waging legal challenges against his ballot access, as concern grew that Kennedy could hurt the party’s chances in November.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)