Donald Trump Jr. praised Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “more generous interpretation” of his father’s campaign, as the ex-Democrat works to draw disillusioned voters into the GOP camp.
After suspending his presidential campaign and endorsing former President Donald Trump over the weekend, Kennedy embarked on a mission to convince his supporters to back the “Make America Great Again” campaign.
“Incredibly well said!!!!”, the president’s eldest son said Sunday in an Instagram response to an extensive explanation from Kennedy about “What ‘MAGA’ really means.”
“I have talked to many Trump supporters. I have talked with his inner circle. I have talked to the man himself,” Kennedy said in a statement over the weekend as he reflected on a phrase that has “troubled liberals who think it is a call for a return to an America before civil rights, gay rights, and women’s rights.”
However, Kennedy argued that Trump’s goal is to take the country forward, not backward.
“But I have a more generous interpretation, one that is truer to my experience of Donald Trump as he is today,” he wrote.
“’Make America Great Again’ recalls a nation brimming with vitality, with a can-do spirit, with hope and a belief in itself,” Trump’s one-time opponent told supporters. “It was an America that was beginning to confront its darker shadows, could acknowledge the injustice in its past and present, yet at the same time could celebrate its successes. It was a nation of broad prosperity, the world’s most vibrant middle class, and a idealistic belief (though not consistently applied) in freedom, justice, and democracy. It was a nation that led the world in innovation, productivity, and technology. And it was the healthiest country in the world.
“This is the America they want to restore,” he said.
As a critical fixture in his father’s campaign, Trump Jr.’s affirmation of Kennedy’s MAGA rebrand marks a crucial nod of approval to Kennedy’s efforts to pull moderates and independents into the Republican Party.
Kennedy mounted a Democratic primary challenge against President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign in April 2023. Six months later, he withdrew from the Democratic Party to run as an independent candidate, citing claims that the Left was “rigging” the primary process against him because it was “frightened that I’m going to spoil the election for President Biden.”
His withdrawal from “the party of my uncles, my father, my grandfather, and both of my great-grandfathers,” to back the Trump campaign marked a momentous moment for the Kennedy political dynasty. Kennedy’s uncle is former President John F. Kennedy, and his father is former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. Both were assassinated.
“His candidacy has inspired millions of Americans, raised critical issues that have been too long ignored, and brought together people from across the political spectrum in a positive campaign grounded in the American values of his father, Robert Kennedy, and his uncle, President Kennedy,” Trump said in a celebration of the Kennedy scion’s latest political pivot.
During the 16 months he spent campaigning across the country, Kennedy’s presidential bid was defined by a focus on investigating the country’s chronic disease “epidemic,” targeting censorship, and ending “forever wars.”
When he announced he would support Trump last Friday, Kennedy indicated that he would be leading efforts with the former president’s campaign to target one of his pet issues, “this tragic epidemic of chronic disease.”
“President Trump has told me that he wants this to be his legacy,” Kennedy said during a roughly 30-minute suspension speech focused on ushering a renewed focus on health policy into a “unity government” with Trump. “I’m choosing to believe that this time he will follow through.
“His son, his biggest donors, [and] his closest friends all support this objective,” Kennedy noted, leading with a likely reference to Don. Jr.
Kennedy appears to be heading up a new arm for the Trump campaign called “Make America Healthy Again.”
“The CDC says that’s because we are the sickest people on earth,” Kennedy said. “We have the highest chronic disease rate on earth. Half of Americans have prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes. When my uncle was president, when I was a boy, juvenile diabetes was effectively nonexistent.”
Trump promised to work “with Bobby” on restoring American health during an Arizona rally last week. The pair made a joint appearance before thousands as Kennedy threw his support behind the former president’s campaign.
“I am repeating my pledge to establish a panel of top experts, working with Bobby, to investigate what is causing the decadeslong increase in chronic health problems and childhood diseases, including auto-immune disorders, autism, obesity, infertility, and more,” the former president said as Kennedy stood by his side.
Kennedy garnered support from 7% of the electorate in early August, according to the Pew Research Center. Recent polls suggest his base of supporters favors Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris. In a race that could be decided by a handful of swing states, the former president’s campaign is battling to capture every vote on the market.
A senior adviser to the Trump campaign told NewsNation over the weekend that Kennedy’s move to suspend his campaign could boost the former president’s chances of winning a second term.
“In a state like Pennsylvania, where it could well come down to tens of thousands of votes, a half-point or three-quarters of a point, that may well make the difference,” Tim Murtaugh declared during an interview with the network.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Kennedy reposted Murtaugh’s comments on social media, saying “This is only the beginning.”
While the Trump campaign appears focused on capturing the votes Kennedy has left wide open, the Harris campaign’s recent comments indicate the Democratic Party holds little regard for Kennedy supporters. In remarks to MSNBC last Thursday, a senior Harris adviser said, “Our message, frankly, isn’t for RFK.”
