The Trump campaign on Friday embraced Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to suspend his candidacy as "good news" for the GOP nominee, while the Harris campaign used the development to appeal to disaffected voters.
Kennedy announced he was suspending his independent White House bid and endorsing former President Trump. He added that he would look to remove his name from the ballot in key battleground states where he could potentially play a spoiler role but would remain on the ballot in most red and blue states.
The Trump campaign released a memo from its pollster, Tony Fabrizio, positing that Trump would gain the majority of Kennedy's supporters in a head-to-head race against Vice President Harris.
The memo cited campaign polling that found Trump drawing more than half of Kennedy’s supporters in Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin, and a plurality of his supporters in Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
“So, when you hear or see the Harris team and/or the Democrats try and spin otherwise, now that the data clearly paints a different picture,” Fabrizio wrote in the memo. “This is good news for President Trump and his campaign – plain and simple.”
The Harris campaign made no direct mention of Kennedy in its statement responding to news of his endorsement of Trump, instead arguing that the Democratic candidate was offering a new vision for the country that might appeal to disaffected voters.
“For any American out there who is tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward, ours is a campaign for you," campaign Chair Jen O'Malley Dillon said in a statement. "In order to deliver for working people and those who feel left behind, we need a leader who will fight for you, not just for themselves, and bring us together, not tear us apart. Vice President Harris wants to earn your support."
“Even if we do not agree on every issue, Kamala Harris knows there is more that unites us than divides us: respect for our rights, public safety, protecting our freedoms, and opportunity for all," she added.
Kennedy has seen his poll numbers sharply decline over the past year, and most polls show him in the low single-digits. But even small shifts in support among his voters could be a factor in what is expected to be a close race in November.
Democrats have aggressively branded him as a fringe candidate who, despite his famous last name, aligns more with the conservative movement.
Trump, meanwhile, openly courted Kennedy's support at times. The former president said this week he would be open to giving Kennedy a role in a future administration.
