RFK Jr. ends U.S. presidential campaign, endorses Trump

(Reuters) -- Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abandoned his campaign on Friday and endorsed Republican Donald Trump, ending a presidential bid that he began as a Democrat trading on one of the most famous names in American politics.

His campaign indicated that he feared staying in the race would siphon support from former President Trump, who is locked in a tight contest with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

Kennedy said he met with Trump and his aides several times and learned they agreed on issues like border security, free speech and ending wars.

"There are still many issues and approaches on which we continue to have very serious differences. But we are aligned on other key issues," he said at a news conference.

Kennedy said he would remove his name from the ballot in 10 battleground states likely to determine the outcome of the election but would remain as a candidate in other states.

An environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine activist and son and nephew of two titans of Democratic politics who were assassinated during the turbulent 1960s, Kennedy entered the race in April 2023 as a challenger to President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination.

With voters at the time turned off by both the aging Biden and the legally embattled Trump, interest in Kennedy soared. He shifted his plans and decided to run as an independent, and a November 2023 Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Kennedy drawing the support of 20% of Americans in a three-way race with Biden and Trump.

He ran a high-profile advertisement during the February 2024 Super Bowl that invoked his father, U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and uncle, U.S. President John F. Kennedy, and drew outrage from much of his