Donald Trump delivered on his promise to bring a “special guest” to the stage during a Glendale, Arizona rally on Friday, after a week out of the limelight amid the Democratic National Convention.
Opening with an apparent verbal misfire, Trump brought out independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who he called “an incredible champion for so many of these values that we all share.”
Trump, caught in a video leaked by Kennedy’s son, endorsed many of Kennedy’s anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, though the Trump campaign had previously blasted him, publicly, as too far-left.
Earlier on Friday, Trump received the endorsement of Kennedy, despite his decision not to drop out in most states, referring to his former opponent as “a very low-key person,” despite the barrage of front-page bizarre stories surrounding Kennedy, including his admissions that he had a brain worm and that he dumped a dead bear in Central Park, as well as the accusations of sexual assault made against him.
On stage, after walking out to a likely unauthorized use of "My Hero" by Foo Fighters, Kennedy gleefully told the crowd that he believed Trump — who planned to arrest unfriendly reporters — would “end the censorship” against his campaign, and tried to justify his support for the former president.
“Don’t you want a president that’s going to make America healthy again?” the famously vaccine-skeptic Kennedy asked, hours after blaming seed oils and processed foods for America’s position during the Trump administration as a world leader in COVID deaths.
Kennedy wasn’t the only “surprise guest” to get a shout-out. Trump also drew attention to “Sherrif Joe” Arpaio, a former sheriff and two-time failed mayoral candidate who was convicted in 2017 for refusing to comply with a court order to stop racial profiling practices. Trump pardoned Arpaio days later.
In his speech, Trump, who’s demonstrated signs of panic as Kamala Harris maintains a month-long upward trajectory, took a more optimistic tone than his Thursday night meltdown on the phone with Fox News.
“74 days, then we gently move into that beautiful White House and we take over our country,” Trump said.
Trump went on to outline his election-day plan to flood polls with a heavy police presence, which some considered a form of voter intimidation.
“We need every sheriff to get over there, every law enforcement official because we got the votes. We got to make sure everything's on the up and up,” the former president explained.
Watch here:
Hey @foofighters, did you let Trump use "My Hero" to welcome RFK Jr. on stage pic.twitter.com/HivdG8ypxM
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) August 23, 2024
