Robert F Kennedy Jr has said he is suspending his independent run for the US presidency and will back Donald Trump’s campaign.
Mr Kennedy, 70, a Democrat for most of his life and the scion of the Kennedy dynasty, said the principles that had led him to leave the party had now compelled him “to throw my support to President Trump”.
He insisted in a press conference in Arizona that he would not drop out, and would keep his name on the ballot in the states where it will not affect the race.
Trump, the Republican candidate, said the endorsement was: “very nice… he’s a great guy”, while Democratic rival Kamala Harris said she would “earn” the support of Kennedy voters.
The decision effectively brings to an end a campaign fuelled by Mr Kennedy’s anti-vax views, and coloured by stories of dead bears and brain worms. His polling has slumped from a high of double figures as funds and national coverage dried up.
He ran a high-profile advertisement during the Super Bowl in February that invoked his father, US Senator Robert F Kennedy, and uncle, President John F Kennedy, which drew outrage from much of his family.
Kerry Kennedy, his sister, said his endorsement of Trump was a “betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story.”
Mr Kennedy said that Trump’s insistence he could end the war in Ukraine by negotiating with Russia “alone would justify my support for his campaign”.
“There are still many issues and approaches on which we continue to have very serious differences. But we are aligned on other key issues.”
He said he would remove his name from 10 states where his presence would be a “spoiler” to Trump’s effort. He has already withdrawn from the battleground states of Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Mr Kennedy said he had launched his campaign “as a Democrat, the party of my father, my uncle… the champions of the Constitution” but left because “it had become the party of war, censorship, corruption, big pharma, big tech, big money”.
He blamed his decision to suspend his campaign on “media control” and his former party’s efforts to thwart his run, adding: “In my heart I no longer believe I have a realistic path to victory in the face of relentless and systematic censorship”.
ReutersMr Kennedy hovered around 14% – 16% in polls at his most popular, according to the Associated Press. However, his ratings have slumped to single digits since Ms Harris became the Democratic nominee.
He said in his press conference that he had offered to work with Ms Harris and her bid for the White House.
Democrats shrugged off his announcement. “Donald Trump isn’t earning an endorsement that’s going to help build support, he’s inheriting the baggage of a failed fringe candidate. Good riddance,” Democratic National Committee senior adviser Mary Beth Cahill said in a statement.
Mr Kennedy’s campaign became synonymous with the anti-vaccine movement as he frequently touted his leadership of the Children’s Health Defense organisation, formerly known as the World Mercury Project.
In recent weeks, Mr Kennedy recounted how he dumped a dead bear cub in New York’s Central Park in 2014 as a joke.
Earlier in his campaign, it was revealed that he had suffered from a brain parasite over a decade ago which caused severe memory loss and brain fog.
His announcement capped days of rumour that Mr Kennedy offered to endorse Trump to secure a role in his next administration.
Trump told CNN earlier this week he would “certainly be open” to Mr Kennedy playing a role, while Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, said he would be suited to “blow up” a federal department.
Merrill Matthews, a resident scholar with the conservative Institute for Policy Innovation, told the BBC that Mr Kennedy’s decision highlighted the two-party system in the US and “how difficult it is to get new ideas and fresh people into the process”.
Mike Wendling also contributed to this report.
