RFK Jr. joins Trump at rally after endorsing him

RFK Jr. Joins Trump at rally after endorsing him All right. Trump is speaking. Glendale, Arizona RFK Junior's about to go on stage with him. You see him standing next to him. Let's just listen in here for a moment. Trump, speaking in RFK junior, will speak in a moment that upon my election, I will establish a new independent presidential commission on assassination attempts. And they will be tasked with releasing all of the remaining documents pertaining to the assassination of President John F Kennedy. And they will also conduct a rigorous review of the attack last month. But I tell you, I have never had more people ask me, please, sir, release the documents on the Kennedy assassination, and we're going to do that. And I also want to salute Bobby's decades of work as an advocate for the health of our families and our children. Nobody has done more. Millions and millions of Americans who want clean air, clean water and a healthy nation have concerns about toxins in our environment and pesticides in our food. That's why today, I'm repeating my pledge to establish a panel of top experts working with Bobby to investigate what is causing the decades long increase in chronic health problems and childhood diseases. Including autoimmune disorders, autism, obesity, infertility, and many more. We want every child in America to grow up and to live a long and healthy life. So I just want to ask Bobby to speak for a little while. I'll stand aside. I'm going to stand aside. But I can only tell you I've known him a long time. We've been a little bit on the opposite side of the equation, but I will say this is a brilliant. I still think of him as young. He's not that young. I always call him young, but he's not that young. But he is a phenomenal person, a phenomenal man who loves the people of this country as much as anybody can love the people of this country. So, Bobby, please say a few words. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, President Trump. Thank you. Oh, a few hours after the assassination attempt at Butler, I got a call from a food advocate and calling aides who's been fighting for many years to try to end the corruption at CDC and FDA and USDA. And these institutions, these regulatory agencies, are actually run by the big food processing companies, the big egg and the chemical companies that they're supposed to regulate. And he said to me that he'd been advising me for many years and on my campaign, and he told me that I and he was also advising President Trump, and he asked if I would talk to President Trump. And I said, of course. And about a few minutes later, I got a call from the president, and we talked. We had a very good talk, and he invited me to come see him next. And I went to Minneapolis. we met again a couple of weeks later in Florida, and we talked about not about the things that separate us because we don't agree on everything, but on the values and the issues that bind us together. And one of the issues that he talked about was having safe food and ending the chronic disease epidemic. our children and elderly, unhealthy, as sick as children in the world. Don't you want healthy children? And and don't you want the chemicals out of our food? And don't you want the regulatory agencies to be free from corporate corruption? And that's what President Trump told me he wanted. He also told me that he wanted to end the grip of the neocons on US foreign policy. He said he didn't want any more 200 trillion, a $200 billion wars in Ukraine, that we could use that money back here in the United States. And the safest, the the best way to build a safe America is to rebuild our industrial base and rebuild the middle class in this country. And don't you want a president who's going to get us out of the wars, and who's going to rebuild the middle class in this country? And he told me that he wanted to end the censorship, because the whole basis of American democracy is the free flow of information. And we know that a government that can silence its opponents has license for any kind of atrocity. And can you think of any time you can look back in history and say that the people we're censoring were the good guys? They're always the bad guys, because it's always the first step down that slippery slope to totalitarianism. And oh, you want a president who's going to protect America's freedoms. And who is going to protect us against totalitarianism? And I want to ask you again. Don't you want a safe environment for your children? Oh, you want it? Oh, you want to know that the food that you're feeding them is not filled with chemicals that are going to give them cancer and chronic disease. And don't you want a president that's going to make America healthy again? Thank you all very, very much. And God bless you and God bless America. All right. So you just heard RFK Jr. Those were very brief remarks. you know, that anticipate actually, I felt that it could have gone longer than that. But first appearance together endorsement. National columnist at The Washington Post Philip Bump and democratic strategist Aisha Mills react to their speeches obviously hitting on his key issues for chronic disease, which was the one that fell on the most fertile years with a lot of people, right? Autoimmune diseases and infertility and obesity, big food, all of that, foreign policy neocons make them help make America healthy again. The line. All right. But as you say, those aren't. Specifically chronic disease. Anything you've ever heard Trump say before? Yeah, no, I actually looked earlier. I looked at because what he just said there, what RFK said is what he said when he dropped out earlier today. I look to see if Donald Trump could ever mention chronic disease, particular in this context. And he had not I mean, he just he just I mean, look, it's Donald Trump. There's pictures of the guy doing McDonald's on his plane. Like, this is not a guy who's deeply dedicated to healthy, healthy eating, right? I mean, the other things he said that like the thing about censorship, just total nonsense, right? He's referring to this Twitter file stuff which has been debunked a thousand times over. He said, Donald Trump's gonna protect us from totalitarianism because of this censorship thing. Like all these things that he's saying, right. Again, you know, to go back to the point that he also tried to get Kamala Harris to like, give him a deal as well. So, I mean, it's just it's also just like starkly insincere in a way that I think is pretty remarkable. And yet, I mean, obviously you hear that's a rally. So you're going to have the response you have Aisha. But is it possible that this does fall on some fertile ears, particularly because he's leading with the issue that did that many people found compelling? Right. The issue of chronic disease is an issue that Americans do face, but even the communication of it just felt a little bit incoherent to me. And that's the thing that struck me, because it actually did feel rather Trump lite, and that he repeated the same three lines twice, once at the beginning, then coming back to a don't you want it to be safe for your kids and to get rid of chemicals and food? Right. So beginning did it was formulaic. It felt like a whole lot of ramble in the middle. They felt contradictory as well because he went into this thing about totalitarianism. And do you want somebody who's going to weaponize the government against you? Right. In fact, that's exactly what Donald Trump has threatened to do time and time again, is weaponize the government against his enemies, essentially. So it all felt like really aligned with this rally, because it's just as rambling and incoherent as most of what Trump has to say. Mark and Lou, I want to get you in here. Tom Foreman is here now, though, because as Philip was talking about, you know, this, this issue of chronic disease, how does it actually fit? What is Trump said? Tom Foreman, what have you found? Just looking over the facts here. Yeah. Well, you know, the facts here. In 2020, the World Health Organization looked at 180 countries around the world. RFK Jr just said that our children are now the unhealthiest, sickest children in the world. The World Health Organization said, yeah, we ranked 39th in the world out of 180 countries. So not as good as it could be, but nowhere near the worst. And when he kept saying, don't you want a safe environment for your children? Don't you want a safe environment for your children? It's important to remember Trump as president rolled back a dozen years of measures out there to make clean water, clean air, the very things that create a clean environment for our children. Right. And of course you're talking about food. So when you talk about safe environment, I mean obviously gun violence being the top issue and they're talking about food. CNN’s Brian Todd covers RFK Jr.’s campaign from launch to suspension Robert F Kennedy Jr. Suspending his presidential bid today and throwing his support behind Donald Trump Brian Todd is joining us right now with more Brian RFK Jr has had more than his fair share of strange rather memorable, often very controversial moments since launching his campaign. Right. Wolf, this campaign has been so bizarre, so fraught with strange stories and accusations that several members of Robert Kennedy Jr's own family are calling this whole thing sad. Analysts say it's put a stain on the reputation of one of America's great political dynasties, and my heart, I no longer believe that I have a realistic past electoral victory. Robert F Kennedy Jr, who started his run as a Democrat then switched to being an independent, bowed out of the race and endorses Donald Trump. And with that, one of the most unique presidential bids in American history comes to a close. This isn't just your typical bizarre campaign. This is almost carnival like. In May of this year, Kennedy claimed that a parasitic worm had once entered his brain and died, which he said led to, quote, severe brain fog and trouble with his short term memory. He actually joked about it. Maybe a brain worm ate that part of my memory. A few weeks ago, in a rambling video posted on ex, Kennedy admitted that about ten years ago he was driving in upstate New York when he found the carcass of a dead bear that had been hit by a vehicle. So I pulled over and I picked up the bear and put him in the back of my van because I was with the skin, the bear. Kennedy said he got sidetracked by several events that day, couldn't go home, didn't know what to do with the bear. So he decided to leave the carcass in New York's Central Park and make it look like a bike accident. So did that. It would be amusing for whoever found it or something. The whole story, the wild, weird story that RFK Jr told about the bear cub and how it got into Central Park has really made an impact and not a positive one for him. This summer, an article in Vanity Fair had a photo of Kennedy appearing to pantomime eating a dog carcass. Kennedy denied it was a dog. It's actually me eating a goat in Patagonia. That same Vanity Fair article published allegations that Kennedy had sexually assaulted a former nanny for his family. Kennedy sidestepped the accusations. I am not a church boy. All this following repeated episodes where Kennedy baselessly called the Covid 19 vaccines unsafe and espoused outlandish conspiracy theories about the vaccines. Covid 19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and end up in black people. The people who are opposed to me are asking excuse and, and Chinese. It's all led to a precipitous fall from grace for the son of an American political icon. Today, after he dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump, five of Kennedy siblings issued a statement saying it's, quote, a sad ending to a sad story. Donald Trump has said he'd be open to appointing Robert Kennedy Jr to a position in his administration if Trump wins in November. The analysts we spoke to say if Trump does that, it could create real problems for him, starting with the fact that because of his past behavior, it would be very tough to get Kennedy confirmed in Congress, Wolf. Brian Todd reporting for us. Brian, thanks very much. I want to dig deeper right now with CNN political analyst Maggie Haberman. She's a senior political correspondent for The New York Times as well. Maggie, thanks for joining us. The New Yorker wrote this in a profile of RFK Jr earlier this month. And let me let me read it to our viewers. In a recent text exchange, Kennedy told one person that Trump was a, quote, CNN political analyst Maggie Haberman explains why the Trump campaign wanted an RFK endorsement terrible human being, the worst president ever, and barely human. He is probably a sociopath. Close quote. So how did this unlikely endorsement today of Trump come about? So, Wolf, these are two very transactional people. And Robert Kennedy Jr has been looking around, you know, trying to make some kind of an endorsement, deal with both candidates. The Washington Post reported recently that he had approached the Harris campaign, about possibly supporting her and then getting a meeting. And there was no meeting. But Trump has been much more receptive. Remember, these are two people, Kennedy and Trump, who met during Trump's 2017 transition. Bobby Kennedy claimed that Trump was going to appoint him to some kind of a vaccine commission. And then Trump's aides quietly distanced Trump from it. But Trump is open to having discussions with them. He likes him. Trump has a credential list, and he likes the Kennedy name. So this all began shortly before the Republican National Convention. And it's been moving toward this. I think that RFK Jr clearly sees he does not have a real path in this race, and this is a way to be relevant. Trump called in to Fox and Newsmax immediately after Kamala Harris's speech last night. Listen to part of what he said. Maggie, that it was a lot of complaining. She didn't talk about China. She didn't talk about fracking. She didn't talk about crime. She didn't talk about 70% of our people are living in poverty. She didn't talk about the trade deficit. You didn't talk about child trafficking, that she's allowed to happen because she was the border czar. She presided over the weakest border in the history of our country. By the way, the beeping you heard appears to be Trump inadvertently hitting buttons on his phone. So what do these interviews Maggie say about his mindset now, look, he's very reactive, in all things, when he is not in command. And we have seen this over the course of the last nine years that he's been in politics or in the political arena. you know, he is he is clearly, you know, jarred by her. he has been trying to get back into the national conversation for several weeks now, ever since President Biden announced he wasn't running for reelection. He's doing that with his RFK endorsement today. He did it last night. You know, he is trying to point out the areas where she separated herself, at least by omission from President Joe Biden, President Biden, President Biden, excuse me, in terms of not tying herself to their joint record, there are a number of Trump's aides who would like him to, basically just be saying Biden, Harris, Biden, Harris all the time. And so that's his his way of doing that. We'll see if he can sustain it. I thought it was interesting that when President Obama took the stage at the Democratic convention, he made a comment about Trump's obsession with crowds, with his crowd sizes. I want to play that clip. Listen to this. There's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes. How is that moment landed with the former president? So it both of the Obama's speeches got under his skin. He is very reactive to both of them. We have seen that since 2011, when Trump spread the lie that, President Obama was not, was was possibly born in Kenya and therefore illegitimate to be president. I think you're going to see more of this. What I was struck by, Wolf, in this convention is there was a pretty focused message about Trump, and we heard it over and over again from the Obamas, from the vice president, from others that, you know, he is a he is a rich guy who cares about his rich friends. but what you also saw were, were comments that I think were designed to bait Trump. That was one of them. the more that Trump reacts self-destructive, the better Democrats feel it is for them. Important point. Maggie Haberman, thank you very much for your excellent analysis. CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez reports on how the Harris campaign is reacting to RFK Jr. suspending his campaign Breaking news. Vice President Kamala Harris campaign now just responding to RFK Jr saying this as he dropped out of the race endorsing Trump following my first discussion with President Trump, I tried unsuccessfully to open similar discussions with Vice President Harris. Vice President Harris declined to meet or even to speak with me. I want to go straight to Priscilla Alvarez, who has been speaking with the Harris campaign. So, Priscilla, now, you know, we just heard what RFK Jr said. and now you've talked to the CARES campaign. They're responding. What are they telling you? Well, their focus is on the voters. They see an opportunity here to try to appeal to some of those voters who may have gravitated to RFK Jr because they were disillusioned by Trump and then candidate, President Joe Biden. So now they're pointing out Kamala Harris as an option, saying this in a statement. This is from the campaign chair, Jen O'Malley Dillon, quote, for any American out there who is tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward, ours is a campaign for you. This is echoing the message that the vice president gave yesterday, during that speech at the Democratic National Convention. It's something we can anticipate in the weeks to come, because of course, it's going to be a close race. And to get to these voters, they're going to have to spend money. Now, we know the campaign has already put aside millions of dollars in digital and TV ads, but I'm also told that Harris advisers are having conversations about to keep the momentum going on fundraising, especially the grassroots donations. Those are harder to predict, so they have to capitalize on moments or create moments to inspire those donations. I'm also told they're talking about fundraising events, including potentially splashy ones, to keep that up. Now, of course, the vice president is clear eyed on what comes next. And I'm also told that the debate that's September presidential debate is another, event that she is focused keenly on in the weeks to come. Erin. All right, Priscilla, thank you very much. With that new reporting CNN’s Erin Burnett talks to RFK Jr.’s cousin, Stephen Kennedy Smith from the Harris campaign. OutFront now, Steven Kennedy Smith is Robert F Kennedy Jr. S first cousin. So the way it goes is that Steven is the son of Jean Kennedy Smith, who is John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy sister. So his father, Steven Smith, a key political advisor to JFK, Steven, endorsed President Biden's reelection. He now supports Kamala Harris. So just as Steven, everyone understands where you're coming from here today, your cousin suspended his campaign, throws his support behind Trump. You know, for you, this is I mean obviously deeply personal. This is your first cousin. You have known each other since you were very young boys just to show pictures you as you were growing up teens, a lot of your life. This is your first cousin. What do you what do you think about this endorsement tonight? Well, look, I agree with what one of your guests said earlier, which is that Robert F Kennedy senior would be rolling over in his grave. you know, his most famous speech was after Martin Luther King was killed and he said, what we need in this country is not division, is not hatred, is not violence and lawlessness. And that's exactly what Donald Trump has promulgated by promoting the attack on the Capitol that killed so many people. So for Bobby to endorse Donald Trump is an explicit betrayal of his father's stated values. that's as clearly as I can say it. The other thing I would say is that he was, a judge by a court in New York to have filed a false ballot application in New York. So he was going to be removed from the ballot in New York, as well as 18 other states. similarly, in Arizona, he couldn't account for his signature as he was going to be off the ballot in Arizona. So he really had no choice but to drop out of the race. And in the weeks up until today, he tried to negotiate a deal with both different campaigns. So if I were an RFK voter, I would be wondering about following the example and the recommendation of someone who was trying to make a deal for himself with both campaigns, that that seems self-serving and opportunistic, so that I know obviously, you see, this is a point of, you know, political opportunism, expediency. perhaps there are other words that that you would use that, that capture your feelings better. But your cousin has said that the problem here is that the Democratic Party left him and that the Democratic Party has shifted. And he talked a little bit about that. I wanted to give you a chance to hear what he said. It would become the party of war, censorship, corruption, big pharma, big tech, big again, and big money. I mean, he often references, you know, to this point about his father rolling over in his grave. References his father, he references your uncle, he references them and he says the opposite. He says they would not recognize today's Democratic Party, and that he is staying true to the principles as he sees of his, his father and his uncle. Do you think it's possible that he does truly believe that? I mean, I don't know what Bobby believes because he's he's been a Democrat and he's been an independent. Now, apparently he's a Republican. He's negotiated for a job with both parties at the same time. He's made a lot of inconsistent and bizarre. statements. So I really can't say what Bobby believes as far as what the Democratic Party stands for. you know, the Democratic Party under JFK, RFK, and M.k stood for universal health care. It stands for protection of the environment. It stands for health, for tax cuts, for the middle class. It stands for human rights and civil rights. Those are all the things that Kamala Harris spoke about last night. So the Democratic Party still stands for the same thing. The only problem Bobby doesn't understand, it's not about him. It's about the country. And so the fact that he's disappointed in the Democratic Party says more about him than it does about the Democratic Party. All right. Well, Steven, I appreciate your taking the time. And as, as I said, I know, I know, it's a difficult time when someone you've known your whole life, part of your family. So thank you very much for coming out and sharing your thoughts. Absolutely. And, you know, I just want to say that. And I grew up, and you may relate to this, Aaron, in a Catholic school and a Catholic school, I was taught you can just like someone's behavior, but you always treat them courteously. And so that's the way we handle things in our family. But I felt an obligation to speak out on this. All right. Well, Steven, and thank you very much for for doing that. I appreciate that doing it here. Sure.