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Inside Trump and RFK Jr's strange alliance: How weeks of negotiations orchestrated by Tucker Carlson were nearly derailed by an 'extraordinary breach' - and one wife's strong disapproval
The assassination attempt against Donald Trump spurred on a weeks-long courtship that led to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ending his presidential campaign to join forces with the former president.
Kennedy Jr. sensationally dropped out of the race to endorse the GOP nominee, leading to a fierce family feud and endless speculation over how the ex-Democrat formed an unusual alliance with the MAGA leader.
The idea for a partnership came to fruition in the wake of the July 13 attempt on Trump's life. Kennedy received a phone call from his health care advisor, Calley Means, according to extensive new reporting from the New York Times.
The offer was tempting: Trump, like Kennedy's father and uncle, had been shot during a public engagement. Would Kennedy consider talking to Trump and possibly serve as his vice president?
Kennedy initially said no, claiming he didn't want the job but eventually decided to speak to Trump about an alliance.
The assassination attempt against Donald Trump spurred on a weeks-long courtship that led to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ending his presidential campaign to join forces with the former president
Over the six weeks between the shooting and Kennedy's campaign suspension - during which Trump picked Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate - the two parties negotiated endlessly behind the scenes.
The key players included infamous talk show host Tucker Carlson and co-campaign manager Susie Wiles.
Means used Carlson to facilitate the deal with Trump's side of the aisle, which excited team Trump because they'd discovered that Kennedy was a bigger polling threat to Trump than Joe Biden or Kamala Harris.
Trump had, as early as April of this year, thought about offering Kennedy the VP gig.
Carlson, Kennedy and Trump engaged in a group text message that set up an opportunity to speak with one another, which they did while the former president was hospitalized in Pennsylvania.
While Team Kennedy had been considering the partnership too, one member of RFK Jr.'s inner circle was not thrilled: wife and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines.
Kennedy has publicly admitted to TMZ that his actress wife is not thrilled with the endorsement.
However, Kennedy's team saw that their candidate was not increasing support among Democrats after Joe Biden's disastrous debate in Georgia in late June that eventually led him to drop out of the race.
The key players included infamous talk show host Tucker Carlson and co-campaign manager Susie Wiles
While Team Kennedy had been considering the partnership too, one member of RFK Jr.'s inner circle was not thrilled: wife and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines
Between that and the Democrats considering RFK Jr. persona non grata, they felt the only chance to have a say in the race was by endorsing Trump.
Kennedy and Trump met on July 15 at the Republican National Convention, with RFK Jr. positioning himself as a public health guru, or even Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The deal was almost blown, however, when RFK Jr.'s son posted video to social media of a phone conversation between Trump and Kennedy.
Trump's team now saw Kennedy as a liar and a leaker and things went south until it was clear that Kamala Harris was in the race and a threat to Trump re-taking the White House.
Kennedy apologized and on August 12, the pair met at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida with Wiles and Donald Trump Jr.
By August 23, Trump and Kennedy were all smiles onstage at an Arizona rally as Kennedy endorsed.
Kennedy suspended his campaign in 10 of the most competitive states, including the seven swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
He and fellow Democrat defector Tulsi Gabbard have been named honorary co-chairs of the Trump transition team.
By August 23, Trump and Kennedy were all smiles onstage at an Arizona rally as Kennedy endorsed
Since then, Kennedy has been in a mad, and largely unsuccessful, dash to get himself off the ballot in key swing states.
A judge in battleground Michigan has ruled that Kennedy, must remain on the presidential ballot despite his push to remove himself – in a ruling that could harm Donald Trump.
Kennedy wants his name off the ballot in battleground states where some polls show him pulling votes from the Republican.
Michigan’s Democratic secretary of state Jocelyn Benson wrote that a candidate who takes a party nomination ‘shall not be permitted to withdraw.’
Kennedy also filed a suit to get off the ballot in North Carolina – a Trump 2020 state which is emerging as a key battleground. Wisconsin rejected an earlier request to withdraw there.
The request for removal of RFK Jr.'s name came after 1.7 million paper ballots were already printed. The state said it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce new ones and the board will start sending out on Friday vote-by-mail ballots.
Meanwhile, his team filed papers to get him on the ballot in Mississippi, a state where Trump is almost certain to prevail.
Kennedy has said he doesn’t want to be a spoiler, and wants to get off the ballot in states where he would ‘hand the election over to the Democrats, with whom I disagree on the most existential issues.’
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now suing North Carolina to have his name removed from the ballot after the state's election board denied his request to no longer be included after 1.7 million ballots were already printed
If RFK Jr. is ultimately unsuccessful in removing his name from the ballot in North Carolina, it could undermine his decision to suspend his bid in order to benefit the Republican nominee.
'Our polling consistently showed that by staying on the ballot in the battleground states, I would likely hand the election over to the Democrats, with whom I disagree on the most existential issues,' Kennedy told journalists when he announced his withdrawal in Phoenix, Arizona, last month.
The dispute in North Carolina isn't the only state where Kennedy is facing issues removing his name from ballots so soon before Election Day in November.
Wisconsin and Michigan are also refusing him permission.
'Any person who files nomination papers and qualifies to appear on the ballot may not decline nomination. The name of that person shall appear upon the ballot except in case of death of the person,' Wisconsin state's election law states and is cited by the board denying his request to get off the ballot. '
Kennedy has, however, successfully removed himself from the ballot in other battleground states of Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona.