WATCH: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Reveals His Presidential Endorsement In Major Campaign Speech

During a Friday speech in Phoenix, Arizona, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that he would be selectively withdrawing from the presidential race and endorsing President Trump. The independent candidate said that he would withdraw his name from the ballot in various swing states to ensure he does not hand the White House to the Democrats. RFK Jr.'s campaign, which was initially launched to take on President Biden during the Democratic primary last year, has fallen significantly in the polls in recent weeks after Harris took over the Democratic ticket. Still, he is the first 3rd party candidate since Ross Perot to have garnered significant support from voters. 

Throughout his speech, Kennedy outlined the long journey of his campaign after he first challenged President Biden for the nomination and then launched his independent campaign. RFK Jr. explained the grueling process of collecting thousands of signatures to get on the ballot in every state as the Democratic National Committee took him to court to keep him off the ballot. The Kennedy Democrat took aim at the mainstream media that covered the Democratic Party and failed to give him the airtime for his candidacy.

The 70-year-old environmental lawyer revealed that President Trump had asked him to be "enlisted" in the administration, and he explained that Trump's plan for ending the war in Ukraine was justification enough for him to throw his support behind Trump. Following the assassination attempt on July 13, Kennedy explained that Trump was "anxious" to discuss the issue of chronic disease with him. He explained that he was "surprised to discover" that Trump and himself were more aligned on the "existential issues" during various meetings in Florida in recent weeks.

Kennedy's exit from the race comes as Harris and Trump are neck-and-neck in most swing states, meaning Kennedy's support could be enough to give Trump a decisive advantage in November. According to FiveThirtyEight, Kennedy has the support of 4.6 percent of the electorate nationally, while Trump has 43.6 percent support, and Harris has 47.2 percent support.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Address to the Nation https://t.co/Wf4xt12GSX

— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) August 23, 2024

This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.

You can follow Sterling on X/Twitter here.