Robert F Kennedy Junior set to end his White House bid and back Donald Trump

The disgruntled former Democrat is expected to endorse Donald Trump, potentially providing the Republican with a critical boost less than three months out from the election.

Kamala Harris’s prospects of winning the White House in November have taken a hit after Robert F Kennedy Junior, the long shot independent presidential candidate, announced he would hold a major press conference on Friday (Saturday AEST), fuelling speculation he will drop out and endorse Donald Trump, potentially providing the Republican with a critical boost less than three months out from the election.

Kennedy’s campaign announced on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) that the disgruntled former Democrat, whose national support hasn’t consistently risen above 5 per cent for months, would “address the nation … about the present historical moment and his path forward”.

Polls suggested RFK had been drawing voters roughly evenly from the Democrat and Republican presidential tickets until Kamala Harris replaced Joe Biden as the Democrat presidential candidate, prompting disillusioned Democrats an opportunity to return to the party amid the nationwide surge of enthusiasm for Ms Harris.

Kennedy told ABC News that he would “neither confirm not deny” the rumours.

The 70-year-old veteran environmental lawyer and vaccine critic of the storeyed Democrat dynasty, struggled to achieve support above 10 per cent at any time during his campaign, which was hampered by largely hostile media coverage, including failure to appear in the June presidential debate, and the cost and difficulty of achieving ballot access in each of the fifty states.

Kennedy’s consistently high ‘favourability ratings’ in comparison to Mr Trump and Ms Harris and earlier Mr Biden never translated into significant electoral support, which has flatlined at 5 per cent support for months, according to an average of reputable polls compiled by FiveThirtyEight.

His running mate Nicole Shanahan, a well off lawyer from California who was once married to Google founder Sergey Brin, a day earlier said the campaign was looking at “two options” after Kennedy’s eclectic mix of policy platforms failed to sufficiently energise a polarised American voting public.

“One is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and [Tim] Walz presidency, because we draw votes from Trump,” she told the Impact Theory on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST).

“Or, we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump. We walk away from that and we explain to our base why we’re making this decision.”

Asked about the prospect of Kennedy endorsement, Trump, who reportedly tried to convince RFK to drop out and endorse him during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July, when a friendly phone call of the two leaked.

Trump said he would consider appointing Mr Kennedy to a senior position in his second administration should Trump win in November.

“If he is thinking about getting out, certainly I’d be open to it. He’s a brilliant guy. He’s a very smart guy,” he told reporters.

Influential supporters of Mr Trump, including his son Don Junior and his former White House adviser Steve Bannon, have tried to convince Kennedy and Trump to work together since the first rumbling of Mr Kennedy’s independent bid emerged last year.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said the issue of whether RFK would endorse Mr Trump was “completely separate from whether RFK gets a cabinet position”.

After first seeking to challenge Joe Biden for the Democratic party nomination, Kennedy announced his own independent campaign for the White House in October, building a campaign around opposition to war, censorship and scepticism of the health care sector, especially and including the Covid-19 response.

Many of his famous family, including John F Kennedy’s only grandson Jack Schlossberg, public repudiated his campaign.

Despite numerous high profile endorsements from the Obamas, Clintons and others during the Democratic National Convention, Ms Harri’s winning in November has dropped from 54 per cent to 50 per cent, level with MR Trump, after news of RFK’s potential Trump endorsement emerged, according to RealClear’s average of political betting market odds.