RFK Jr. says Trump alliance not about revenge

Robert Kennedy Jr. endorses Donald Trump in Arizona

Kennedy's Trump endorsement drew sharp criticism from his siblings and his former environmental allies

(Image credit: Rebecca Noble / Getty Images)

published 26 August 2024

What happened

Robert Kennedy Jr., who suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Donald Trump, said that Trump made "no commitment" to give him a position in a second Trump administration. Kennedy also told Fox News he did not throw his support to Trump out of revenge for what he calls his mistreatment by the Democratic Party or a reported snub by the Kamala Harris campaign.

Kennedy told Fox News that Trump invited him to "form a unity government" and he will be "campaigning actively."

Kennedy's Trump endorsement drew sharp criticism from his siblings and his former environmental allies. It's probably "best understood as a double-edged political sword" for Trump, too, The Wall Street Journal said in an editorial. It may help Trump in "battleground states," but Kennedy "lives in the fever swamps with his anti-vaccination views, his support for an extreme climate agenda," and his blame of big business for "American health ills" — not to mention he "admitted recently to dumping a dead bear in New York's Central Park."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.