Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested former President Donald Trump may bring other disgruntled liberals and Democrats into his 2024 presidential campaign.
Kennedy, a former Democrat, suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump last Friday. Trump later indicated Kennedy may have a role in his future administration tackling the nation's chronic health issues.
Kennedy said he would be "campaigning actively" with Trump's team during a Sunday appearance on Fox News.
“I think President Trump is going to make a series of announcements about other Democrats who are joining his campaign," Kennedy said. "I want to make America healthy again, and so does President Trump. So those are objectives.”
Kennedy then addressed The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board's criticism of his endorsement, saying the board "may be worried about shareholder value for pharmaceutical companies."
"I talked specifically to President Trump about that issue, and he said that he wanted to leave, as his legacy, healthy children, and that, you know, that he was unconcerned about the other implications," Kennedy added. RFK JR: "President Trump is going to make a series of announcements about other democrats who are joining his campaign." pic.twitter.com/I48hewXzj1
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 25, 2024
Although Trump has indicated Kennedy may have a position in his future administration, the former presidential candidate said "no commitments" have been made as of yet.
“There’s been no commitments. But, you know, I met with President Trump, with family, with his closest advisers, and we just made a general commitment that we are going to work together," Kennedy said of his and Trump's bipartisan unity against Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.
Kennedy also discussed his vision for reforming governmental agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
“I wouldn’t dismantle them. I would change the focus and I would end the corruption,” he said. “We need to get the corruption out of FDA, out of NIH, out of the CDC and make them function as they’re supposed to function, which is to protect public health and particularly children’s health.”
Shortly after Kennedy suspended his campaign and threw his support behind Trump, his family released an excoriating statement lamenting the decision.
"We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise and national pride," Kerry Kennedy wrote on behalf of the family. "We believe in Harris and Walz. Our brother Bobby's decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear." I am sharing a personal statement that my family and I have made in response to my brother’s announcement. pic.twitter.com/j7vTTabNYZ
— Kerry Kennedy (@KerryKennedyRFK) August 23, 2024
"It is a sad ending to a sad story," the Kennedy family added.
Former Massachusetts congressman Joe Kennedy III also threw support behind the Kennedy family statement.
On Friday, after endorsing Trump, Kennedy said his wife Cheryl Hines felt "uncomfortable" with his decision, though praised her for her support.
"I am so grateful to my amazing wife Cheryl for her unconditional love, as I made a political decision with which she is very uncomfortable," Kennedy wrote. "I wish this also for the country — love and unity even in the face of disagreement. We will need that in coming times."
