Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is withdrawing from the White House ballot in Arizona, state officials said ahead of a speech by the independent US presidential candidate that could give a lift to Donald Trump’s faltering campaign.
The eccentric nephew of John F. Kennedy was expected to drop out of the race entirely and endorse Trump, in a bid to dent Kamala Harris’s momentum after the vice president closed the Democratic convention on Thursday night.
His speech is set to be delivered later on Friday in Phoenix, Arizona, where Trump is also due to be, raising the possibility of a joint appearance to seal an unlikely alliance.
Kennedy, 70, the son of the assassinated Democratic politician Robert F. Kennedy, started his presidential campaign as a Democrat, challenging President Joe Biden for the nomination.
But he lurched more Right-ward, and his campaign has been marked by an obsession with conspiracy theories and increasingly baroque stories about his past life, including the time he dumped a bear’s carcass in New York’s Central Park.
He reportedly wanted a deal to trade his endorsement in return for a job in a potential Trump administration.
Trump told CNN this week that he would "certainly be open" to Kennedy playing a role in his administration if the independent candidate does quit the race and endorse him.
Kennedy has been averaging just under 5% in the polls, a sizeable slice given how close the overall race is between Trump and Vice President Harris, who has transformed the Democrats’ fortunes since Mr Biden bowed out.
The Republican former president responded to her convention speech with a running diatribe on social media and then a dismissive call in to Fox News.
