Supports Trump

US election: Independent candidate Kennedy quits

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

According to a media report, independent US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will give up his candidacy for the election by the end of the week.

He will back the Republican candidate Donald Trump, the ABC News channel reported on Wednesday, citing insiders.

A statement from Kennedy was not initially available. His campaign team had announced that the 70-year-old would address the nation on Friday in the state of Arizona.

Considered to have no chance
He will then talk about his next steps. The nephew of former President John F. Kennedy is considered to have no chance against Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris. Kennedy originally stood as a Democrat for the vote in early November.

The 70-year-old wanted to "address the nation", according to his website. According to this, it is about the "present historic moment" and Kennedy's "future path". Kennedy wants to speak in Phoenix in the US state of Arizona, where Trump is also making a campaign appearance on Friday (local time).

Kennedy's vice-presidential candidate Nicole Shanahan had recently brought into play a merger with former President Trump, who wants to return to the White House for the Republicans.

Shanahan had explained in an interview that there were two options for Kennedy's team: Either stay in the race and risk Democrat Kamala Harris winning the presidential election on November 5. Or support Trump now. It remained unclear to what extent Shanahan had discussed the positioning with Kennedy. On CNN, Trump then signaled his openness to a role for the non-partisan in his possible administration.

Contacts with far-right politicians
The nephew of legendary former President John F. Kennedy has no chance in the presidential election - polls put him at an average of only around 5 percent. However, both the Democrats and the Republicans are looking at him with concern. The election is set to be a neck-and-neck race between Trump and Harris. Kennedy could take decisive percentages from both sides. It currently looks as if his candidacy is more likely to hurt Trump - so a withdrawal by Kennedy would tend to be good news for the Republican.

As an activist and lawyer, Kennedy has campaigned for environmental issues such as clean water. In the recent past, the avowed anti-vaccinationist has often been criticized by Democrats and members of his family for spreading conspiracy myths and associating with far-right politicians.