Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., looks on during a campaign event to announce his pick for running mate at the Henry J.
Kaiser Event Center on March 26, 2024 in Oakland, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
plans to drop out of the presidential race on Friday and endorse Republican nominee Donald Trump , NBC News reported Wednesday, citing two sources familiar with the independent candidate's plans. Kennedy's withdrawal from the race would end a longshot bid that nonetheless threatened to upend the major-party contest between Trump and his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris. The Kennedy and Trump campaigns are working on organizing a joint appearance, one of NBC's sources said.
Both Trump and Kennedy have events scheduled in the Phoenix, Arizona, area on Friday. Kennedy's campaign has billed his event, set for 2 p.m.
ET, as an address "about the present historical moment and his path forward." Kennedy, 70, ran an unorthodox campaign that at times seemed to be simultaneously driven and bogged down by his contrarian views and controversies on a range of hot-button issues. While he never approached the level of support amassed by the Republican and Democratic nominees, polls of the presidential race showed Kennedy making one of the strongest third-party showings in decades.
In a presidential map where victory can hinge on swaying slim margins of on-the-fence voters in a handful of swing states, Kennedy's appearance.