Trump solicits support from RFK Jr. in leaked phone call

By Stephanie Kelly

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump suggested to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that the independent presidential candidate might assist the Trump campaign in some way, according to a video of a phone conversation posted on social media on Sunday and confirmed by Kennedy.

“I would love for you to do something – and I think it would be so good and so great for you,” Trump can be heard saying over speakerphone in the video, apparently referring to the 2024 election campaign.

“We will win,” Trump said, to which Kennedy replied, “Yes.”

“We're way ahead of the guy,” Trump added, referring to incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden.

Kennedy's supporters span the political spectrum, from liberals to conservatives to independents, and some polls show he would attract both Trump and Biden voters.

Trump also spoke to Kennedy about Saturday's assassination attempt, saying the bullet that hit his ear “felt like a giant – like the biggest mosquito in the world.”

Regarding Biden's phone call with Trump after the assassination, Trump said: “It was actually very nice.”

Trump's phone call with Kennedy also included a conversation about vaccines that echoed some of Kennedy's past views. The environmental lawyer has been spreading misinformation about vaccines for years.

“If you give a baby a vaccination, Bobby,” Trump said, “that's got 38 different vaccines, and it looks like it's meant for a horse and not for a, you know, 10 or 20 pound baby … and then you see the baby start to change radically all of a sudden.”

“And then you hear that it has no effect, right? But we both talked about it a long time ago.”

After the call went viral on social media, Kennedy apologized to Trump on Tuesday on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. “When President Trump called me, I was out with an in-house videographer,” he wrote. “I should have ordered the videographer to stop recording immediately. I am mortified that this was posted.”

A day earlier, Kennedy had posted on X about his meeting with Trump, writing: “Our main topic was national unity, and I hope to meet with Democratic leaders on that as well. No, I will not drop out of the race.”

The Democratic Party views Kennedy, who ran as the Democratic candidate before declaring himself an independent, as an “election spoiler” who would take votes away from Biden and de facto help Trump win the White House.

Matt Corridoni, spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, said on X that Kennedy also had dinner with conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson at the Republican National Convention being held this week in Milwaukee.

“He (Kennedy) has no chance of winning this race and is nothing more than a spoilsport for Trump,” said Lis Smith, communications adviser to the DNC.

The Kennedy team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Heather Timmons, Alistair Bell and Cynthia Osterman)