As the November election approached, Mr. Kennedy's approval ratings plummeted from double-digit highs as funding and national coverage dwindled.
The son of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, he comes from one of the most prominent families in Democratic politics.
His decision to support a Republican for the White House has angered his relatives, who criticized him for mentioning the family name in a Super Bowl ad in February.
His sister, Kerry Kennedy, said his support for Trump was “a betrayal of our father and the values our family holds dear.” It’s a sad ending to a sad story.
“This is a difficult decision for me because it will be difficult for my wife, my children and my friends,” Mr. Kennedy said Friday.
“But I have a conviction that this is what I am meant to do, and that conviction gives me inner peace even in the midst of the storm.”
He is married to Cheryl Hines, star of the HBO comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm. She posted on X (formerly Twitter) that she deeply respects her husband’s decision to stop campaigning. She did not mention his support for Trump.
Kennedy told reporters Friday that Trump's assertion that negotiations with Russia alone could end the war in Ukraine “justifies my support for his campaign.”
“There are still many issues and approaches where we have very serious differences. But we agree on other core issues.”
He said he would remove his name from 10 states that he said “undermine” Trump’s efforts. He has already withdrawn from the key states of Arizona and Pennsylvania.
But election officials told The Associated Press that it was too late to wind down campaigns in key states including Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin.
Mr. Kennedy launched his campaign in April 2023 on the grounds that “I am a Democrat, the party of my father, my uncle and the defenders of the Constitution.”
But he left because “this party had become the party of war, censorship, corruption, Big Pharma, Big Tech and Big Money.”
He blamed his decision to suspend his campaign on “media control” and attempts by his former party to sabotage his campaign, adding: “In my heart of hearts I no longer believe there is a realistic path to victory in the face of ruthless, systematic censorship.”
