The Kennedy family has hit out at their sibling Robert F Kennedy Jr for endorsing Donald Trump in the US presidential race, calling it a “betrayal” of their values.
Mr Kennedy, also known as RFK Jr, announced he was suspending his independent campaign for the presidency to lend his support to the Republican candidate in certain states.
“In about 10 battleground states where my presence would be a spoiler, I’m going to remove my name, and I’ve already started the process,” Mr Kennedy said during a news conference in Phoenix.
RFK Jr, whose father Bobby Kennedy was assassinated as he ran for president back in 1968, said the Democratic Party was no longer “champions of the constitution” and had departed “dramatically” from the “core values” he grew up with.
Mr Kennedy, 70, cited free speech, the war in Ukraine and “a war on our children” as among the reasons he would try to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states.
“These are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent, and now to throw my support to President Trump,” he said.
Mr Kennedy is also the nephew of former Democratic US president John F Kennedy, who was killed in 1963.
RFK Jr was 14 when his father, the former US attorney general Robert F Kennedy, JFK’s brother, was killed.
Image: Robert F Kennedy in August 1964. Pic: AP
In response to RFK Jr’s announcement, his brothers and sisters shared a statement, saying: “We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise and national pride.
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“We believe in Harris and Walz.
“Our brother Bobby’s decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear.
“It is a sad ending to a sad story.”
Image: Kamala Harris addressing the DNC this week. Pic: AP
‘In an honest system, I would have won’
RFK Jr hit out at the media and the Democrats during his announcement, while saying his campaign team had “pulled off a miracle” by making him a presidential candidate.
“You showed everyone democracy is still possible here,” he said. “Today I’m here to tell you I will not allow your efforts to go to waste.”
Mr Kennedy added he believed that in an “honest system” he would have won the election.
Image: John Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Pic: AP
He criticised the Democratic Party, saying it had waged “legal warfare” against him and Mr Trump, who is running against vice president Kamala Harris to be elected in the presidential vote on 5 November.
He also said of Democrats: “Who needs a policy when you have Trump to hate?”
Image: Mr Kennedy is expected to publicly endorse Donald Trump for president. Pic: Reuters
According to Sky News’ partner network NBC, Mr Kennedy will be speaking at a Trump rally later today.
News of him endorsing the 78-year-old former Republican leader comes after Mr Trump appeared to try and woo Mr Kennedy last month.
In footage shared by Mr Kennedy’s son, Mr Trump says: “I would love you to do something – and I think it would be so good for you and so big for you,” apparently referring to the 2024 election race.
Mr Trump added: “We’re gonna win,” to which Mr Kennedy said: “Yeah.”
Reports of Mr Kennedy’s decision emerged earlier in court documents filed by the 70-year-old’s campaign team.
A Pennsylvania court filing asked to remove him from the state’s ballot, according to the AP.
And on Thursday, Arizona officials said Mr Kennedy filed paperwork to remove himself from the presidential ballot there.
Anti-vax views and turn against Democrats
Despite his family’s history with the Democratic Party, RFK Jr was running as an independent, after leaving the Democrats in October.
Mr Kennedy has made a name for himself as an anti-vaxxer during the pandemic – and beforehand.
Image: Pic: Reuters
As well as sharing disinformation online, Mr Kennedy became a regular on the anti-mandate rally circuit during the coronavirus response.
At one event, he compared the US government’s use of vaccine mandates to laws in Nazi Germany.
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“Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could cross the Alps into Switzerland, you could hide in an attic like Anne Frank did,” he told the crowd at a march in January 2022.
“Today, the mechanisms are being put in place that will make it so none of us can run, and none of us can hide.”
Donald Trump has responded to so-called “No Kings” rallies with an AI video of himself in a fighter jet, pouring brown sludge over protesters.
Millions of people were expected to take part in the demonstrations this weekend – the second such gathering after an initial nationwide day of protest in June coinciding with the US president’s birthday.
The term “No Kings” reflects the belief by some that Mr Trump is behaving like a “king” and some in his administration are depicting him as a monarch.
Image: A protester in costume as Donald Trump presents the president as a prisoner in chains in Seattle. Pic: AP
Image: One of the rallies in New York. Pic: Reuters
On Sunday, the president shared the AI video on his social media platform, Truth Social.
In the clip, an AI-generated version of Mr Trump is wearing a crown and sitting in a jet with “King Trump” written across it, to the soundtrack of Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone, from the film Top Gun.
The jet then drops thick brown sludge on to AI-generated protesters.
Supporters say the marches are a patriotic defence of free speech, while critics are calling them anti-American.
Image: A large inflatable effigy of Mr Trump in Chicago. Pic: Reuters
Image: This protest took place in Washington DC. Pic: AP
Mr Trump’s Republican Party has dismissed the demonstrations as “Hate America” rallies.
Many of the events featured marching bands, huge banners and signs, as well as effigies of the president and demonstrators wearing inflatable costumes.
Image: Thousands gathered along the waterfront in Portland, Oregon. Pic: AP
Image: Protesters at the Wyoming State Capitol got creative with their signs. Pic: Wyoming Tribune Eagle/AP
The protests follow Mr Trump’s return to the White House and come against the backdrop of a government shutdown which has closed federal programmes and services.
There has also been criticism of what some see as an aggressive executive, confronting Congress and the courts, in ways that protest organisers believe are a slide toward authoritarianism.
Image: This event in San Francisco was among thousands taking place across the US. Pic: Reuters
Image: A ‘No Kings’ sign, outside City Hall in Los Angeles. Pic: Reuters
So far, the atmosphere at most of the protests appears to have been largely energetic and upbeat, with protesters calling for accountability and protections for civil liberties.
Organisers said events would be peaceful – a direct response to Republican and Trump administration claims that the protests could be unsafe.
Two survivors of a US airstrike, targeting what Donald Trump has described as a “drug-carrying submarine” in the Caribbean, have been repatriated to their home countries.
“It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well known narcotrafficking transit route,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“US intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics,” he added.
The US military staged a helicopter rescue for the survivors on Thursday after the strike on their semi-submersible vessel, suspected of trafficking illegal narcotics. They were then transported to a US Navy warship.
Two other crew members on board were killed.
Image: The semi-submersible vessel was struck by US forces on Thursday, leaving two dead and two survivors. Pic: @realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
President Trump confirmed the survivors would be returned to their home countries of Colombia and Ecuador “for detention and prosecution”. Both countries subsequently confirmed they had been handed over.
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“America will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea,” he added.
On Saturday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro posted on X: “We have received the Colombian detained on the narco submarine, we are happy he is alive and he will be processed according to the law.”
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1:58
Trump sends CIA into Venezuela and threatens land attack
The Trump administration has said previous strikes in the Caribbean have killed 27 people, raising concerns among some about the legality of the military operations.
The strikes also come against the backdrop of a US military buildup in the Caribbean that includes guided missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and around 6,500 troops as the US president escalates a standoff with the Venezuelan government.
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0:59
Venezuelan president: ‘We don’t want a war’
On Wednesday, Mr Trump disclosed he had authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela, adding to speculation in Caracas that the US is attempting to topple Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Mr Maduro has denied any connection to drug smuggling and claimed the US boat strikes are a pretext for regime change, and violations of sovereignty and international law.
Thousands of so-called “No Kings” rallies are being held across the US to protest at what organisers are calling Donald Trump’s “crackdowns on First Amendment rights”.
Millions of people are expected to take part in the demonstrations – the second such gathering, after an initial nationwide day of protest in June, coinciding with the US president’s birthday.
The term “No Kings” reflects the belief by some that the US president is behaving like a “king” and some in his administration are depicting him as a monarch.
Supporters are framing the marches as a patriotic defence of free speech, while critics are calling them anti-American.
Here are some of the pictures emerging from the rallies.
Image: People attend a ‘No Kings’ protest in New York. Pic: Reuters
Image: A Donald Trump is presented as a prisoner in chains in Seattle. Pic: AP
Image: Some protest marches, like this one in Washington DC, have the appearance of a colourful parade. Pic: AP
Donald Trump’s Republican Party has dismissed the demonstrations as “Hate America” rallies, but in many places the events looked more like a street party.
There were marching bands, huge banners and signs, effigies of the president and demonstrators wearing inflatable costumes.
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Image: A large inflatable effigy of Donald Trump in Chicago. Pic: Reuters
Image: Thousands gather along a waterfront in Portland, Oregon. Pic: AP
Image: Protesters at the Wyoming State Capitol are been creative with their signs. Pic: Wyoming Tribune Eagle/AP
The protests follow Donald Trump’s return to the White House and come against the backdrop of a government shutdown which has closed federal programmes and services.
There has also been criticism of what some see as an aggressive executive, confronting Congress and the courts, in ways that protest organisers believe are a slide toward authoritarianism.
Image: This event in San Francisco is among thousands taking place across the US. Pic: Reuters
Image: A ‘No Kings’ sign, outside City Hall in Los Angeles, represents a protest against what is seen as increasingly authoritarian rule. Pic: Reuters
So far, the atmosphere at most of the protests appears largely energetic and upbeat, with protesters calling for accountability and protections for civil liberties.
Organisers insist today’s events will be peaceful – a direct response to Republican and Trump administration claims that the protests could be unsafe.