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Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in court filings he will endorse former President Donald Trump on Friday, The Associated Press reported.

Kennedy submitted court filings in Pennsylvania on Friday prior to his speech addressing the nation about his “path forward”, according to The Associated Press. Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, also alluded to the possibility that Kennedy would “join forces” with the Republican nominee on Wednesday.

“There’s two options that we’re looking at and one is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and Walz presidency because we draw votes from Trump, we draw somehow more votes from Trump,” Shanahan told Tom Bilyeu, host of the “Impact Theory” podcast, on Tuesday. “Or we walk away right now and join forces with … Donald Trump and you know, we walk away from that and explain to our base why we’re making this decision.”

Trump responded on Thursday to circulating reports about Kennedy’s withdrawal and potential endorsement, saying that he “would be honored” to gain the independent candidate’s support. Trump remarked on Kennedy’s character, saying that his “heart is in the right place,” while also recalling that the Democratic Party treated him “very badly” by barring him from debates and imposing rules that advantaged Biden.

“He’s a – as you know, he is a little different kind of a guy, very smart guy, a very good person. If he endorsed me, I would be honored by it, I would be very honored by it,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt, Lawrence Jones, Brian Kilmeade and guest host Will Cain on Thursday. “He really has his heart in the right place, he is a respected person. Women love some of his policies and I guess some people don’t like some of his policies. But, overall, I thought the Democrats, he was a Democrat, I don’t know what he is right now, but he was a Democrat, they treated him very badly.”

Shanahan also called out Democrats for their treatment of Kennedy’s candidacy in a post on X from Thursday.

“When I point out what the Democratic Party and their super PACs have done to sabotage our campaign, their response is always, ‘but Trump is worse,’” Shanahan said in the post. “Here’s an idea: stop suing us. Let us debate. Quit rigging the media and the polls. It’s a simple formula, people—get with it.”

Kennedy announced he would be continuing to run as an independent in October, criticizing the Democratic Party for impeding his candidacy. Kennedy also differentiated himself from party-line Democrats over his opinion on censorship, vaccine mandates, illegal immigration and the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.

After Biden bowed out of the race in July and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, Kennedy’s polling numbers plummeted.

Prior to Biden’s withdrawal, multiple polls showed Kennedy with double-digit support. A Forbes/HarrisX poll from June put Kennedy at 16%, with Trump leading Biden by 5 points, drawing 41% and 36%, respectively.

Kennedy’s support dropped to as low as 2% as of early August, according to an Economist/YouGov poll. Since Democrats swapped the top of the ticket, Harris has gained a two point edge over Trump with the candidates polling at 45% and 43%, respectively, according to the poll.

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Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Tuesday that Silicon Valley lawyer Nicole Shanahan will be his 2024 running mate for president.

Kennedy had also been considering New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, as well as several others like former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, according to The New York Times. The Democrat-turned-independent picked Shanahan to be his vice president because she shared his views on health, censorship, immigration and more, he said during a speech in Oakland, California.

“And I found all of those qualities in a woman who grew up right here in Oakland. The daughter of immigrants who overcame every daunting obstacle, and went on to achieve the highest levels of the American dream,” said Kennedy. “So that is why I’m so proud to introduce to you, the next vice president of the United States — my fellow lawyer, a brilliant scientist, technologist, a fierce, warrior mom, Nicole Shanahan.”

Shanahan, who is 38-years-old, donated to Kennedy’s campaign when he was running as a Democrat in May 2023, and helped fund his aligned super PAC’s Super Bowl ad, according to the NYT. The lawyer is also the ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

“So these are two of my political convictions I hold today — to serve peace and to help those in poverty,” said Shanahan. “So you can understand why I gravitated to the Democratic Party, because that was supposed to be the party of peace, the party of compassion. Many Democrats, we still believe in those ideals. But unfortunately as an institution, it has lost its way. There is only one anti-war candidate today, and you won’t find him in the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. He is an independent, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.”

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Kennedy needed to pick a running mate to qualify for certain states’ petitions to gather signatures for ballot access, according to the NYT. The independent might have to restart the signature gathering process in Nevada, as he failed to list a vice president when filing the petition, CBS News reported on Monday.

With the help from American Values 2024, his affiliated super PAC, Kennedy is on the ticket in Utah, and is nearing access in New Hampshire, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and South Carolina.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and President Joe Biden’s campaign have ramped up efforts to combat what it views as the negative effects independents and third-party candidates could have on his reelection chances. The DNC created a team to combat the perceived threat, along with a coalition of lawyers to police how candidates like Kennedy gain ballot access.

The party also filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission in early February over American Values 2024 helping Kennedy gather ballot signatures.

Both national and key battleground state polling suggests former President Donald Trump’s lead over Biden grows when Kennedy and other third-party candidates are on the ballot, according to the RealClearPolitics averages.

CHECK OUT DAILY CALLER CO-FOUNDER TUCKER CARLSON’S INTERVIEW WITH RFK JR.:

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