(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The New York Times published an insiders’ account on Monday of how Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. forged an alliance for the 2024 presidential election—revealing that the flashpoint occurred in the hours after the July 13 Trump assassination attempt.
The Kennedy and Trump teams had reportedly been flirting with the idea of working together for months before the shooting, but no solid plans ever formulated. But those plans quickly solidified on July 13, according to NYT.
After Mr. Trump was examined at a hospital in western Pennsylvania, they spoke by phone for nearly half an hour … Mr. Trump tried to coax Mr. Kennedy into his camp. ‘I would love you to do something,’ he said, according to a portion of the conversation that was later made public. ‘I think it’ll be so good for you and so big for you. And we’re going to win,’” NYT reported Monday.
The Trump-Kennedy alliance did risk collapsing after the two met on July 15 at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, due in large part to media leaks from Kennedy’s camp. Moreover, a Trump victory seemed certain for many conservatives at the time, giving the GOP fewer reasons to strike a bargain with former Democrats.
But after Joe Biden dropped out of the race and Kamala Harris surged in the polls, Trump’s team reportedly realized they needed to do something to regain the momentum.
“The next few days consolidated the alliance, although uncertainty lingered until the last moment. On Aug. 16, at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., Mr. Trump sat down with members of the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice, a group that has fought vaccine mandates and whose support Mr. Trump was eager to court,” NYT reported Monday.
“The group was there to discuss child health issues but also talked up Mr. Kennedy as an ally, according to two of the people briefed on the meeting. Mr. Trump indicated that he planned to bring him into his camp … The next week, Mr. Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, told an interviewer that she and Mr. Kennedy were considering dropping out and supporting Mr. Trump, making public what had been privately in the works for weeks.”
Kennedy officially dropped his presidential bid on August 23 to endorse Trump.
Kennedy said in his endorsement speech that the Democratic party had changed significantly since he attended his first Democratic National Convention at the age of 6. He said it was no longer the party of his father and uncle. He blamed “shadowy DNC operatives” for fighting his campaign at every turn in legal battles challenging the signatures he turned in to get on the ballot in state after state. He also blamed media companies for failing to do their jobs.
A few days later, Trump made Kennedy an honorary co-chair of his transition team, giving RFK influence over personnel and policy for a second Trump term.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
