Christy Kelly, reporter at The Arizona Sun Times, said Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Friday morning announcement in Arizona may have been planned to knock Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris out of the news cycle less than 24 hours after her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night.
On Friday, Kennedy announced the suspension to his presidential campaign and that he would be endorsing former President Donald Trump in the race moving forward.
Kennedy said that he would be removing his name off of the ballot in battleground states, including Arizona, however, said that his name would remain on ballots in reliably Democratic or Republican states and encouraged voters in those states to continue to vote for him.
Kelly, who attended Kennedy’s press conference in Phoenix, said journalists from “all over the country” traveled to Arizona to hear Kennedy’s announcement, pointing out how the press coverage surrounding Kennedy may have been a move by the campaign to knock Harris out of the news cycle just hours after her convention speech.
“This is major,” Kelly said on Friday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
“I think the most exciting thing is this is going to knock Kamala’s speech right out of the news cycle, which I think was the intended purpose…It’s going to knock her out of the news cycle for sure,” Kelly added.
During his press conference in Phoenix, Kennedy criticized Harris’ 35-day streak of avoiding media events and participating in interviews.
“My uncle and father both relished debate. They prided themselves on their capacity to go toe-to-toe with any opponent in the battle over ideas. They would be astonished to learn that the Democratic Party presidential nominee who, like Vice President Harris, has not appeared in a single interview or unscripted encounter with voters for 35 days. Thus is profoundly undemocratic. How are people to choose when they don’t know whom they are choosing? And how can this look to the rest of the world
In addition, Kennedy further condemned the Democratic Party’s “censorship, media control, and weaponization of the federal agencies” to avoid opposition and confrontation on its policy standpoints.
The issues Kennedy cited for throwing his support behind Trump included “free speech, the war in Ukraine, and the war on our children.”
Kennedy’s much-anticipated announcement on Friday came hours before Trump is scheduled to hold a rally in Glendale, Arizona, which the former president has teased that a special guest will be attending.
While rumors have swirled that Kennedy would be Trump’s special guest tonight, Kelly was not overly optimistic, noting how the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is also reported to be traveling to Arizona this weekend to attend an event.
“I think [Kennedy] may pop by, but Nigel Farage is also in town for tomorrow. So I think he is the special guest. I’m going out on a limb, but let me hedge my bets, [Kennedy] may also pop by, but I think Nigel is the special guest,” Kelly said.
Watch the full interview:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
