RFK Jr. confirms video of Trump call is legitimate, apologizes
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued an apology Tuesday morning on social media after his son shared a video of the longshot independent candidate on the phone with former President Donald Trump, who tried to persuade Kennedy to endorse him.
"When President Trump called me I was taping with an in-house videographer," Kennedy wrote. "I should have ordered the videographer to stop recording immediately. I am mortified that this was posted."
In the video, Mr. Trump is heard through Kennedy's speakerphone, agreeing with Kennedy's discredited sentiments about vaccines before trying to coax the independent candidate into endorsing his campaign. The former president also shared details about his attempted assassination during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday and the phone call that followed between him and President Biden.
"I would love you to do something. And I think it'll be so good for you and so big for you," Trump said over the phone.
"And we're going to win," he added.
"Yeah," Kennedy replied.
While Kennedy denies playing a spoiler role that would hand the election over to Trump, Kennedy has told reporters that he believes Mr. Biden's odds of beating Trump in November are slim.
In May, Kennedy told reporters during a presentation that he believed he had a path to victory if Mr. Biden dropped out of the race, leaving him in a head-to-head race against Mr. Trump.
"We only have one chance to beat Donald Trump, and we need a nominee who can get the job done. And that would be me," Kennedy said during a presentation on campaign polling in Brooklyn.
After meeting with Trump the morning of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday, Kennedy tried to dispel rumors on X suggesting that the pair met to discuss a unity ticket.
"Lots of rumors going around about my meeting this morning with President Trump. Our main topic was national unity, and I hope to meet with Democratic leaders about that as well. No, I am not dropping out of the race," Kennedy wrote.
Kennedy's son, Bobby Kennedy III, who posted the video before deleting it a couple hours later, wrote on X "[Trump] could have picked a unity ticket instead he picked JD "fire all the unvaccinated nurses" Vance," Bobby Kennedy III wrote.
The conversation occurred just two days after the assassination attempt against Trump, who had posted on social media that it was "imperative" for Kennedy to receive Secret Service protection.
"Given the history of the Kennedy Family, this is the obvious right thing to do!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
During the call with Kennedy, Mr. Trump shared details about his attempted assassination, describing the feeling of the bullet grazing his ear as "the world's largest mosquito."
Mr. Trump also recounted Mr. Biden calling him after the shooting and said the conversation between them was "very nice, actually."