RFK Jr Traded His Endorsement For The Promise Of A Job— But What Is A Promise From Trump Worth?

And Is That Even Legal?

Kamala’s speech over-shadowed Trump’s speech, not just in quality of what she had to say, but for what is most important for Trump: the ratings. According to Michael Mulvihill, Fox Sports’ president of Insights and Analytics her speech drew 22% more viewers than his did. The early Nielsen numbers were 15.0 for Kamala but just 12.3 for Señor Trumpanzee.

Trump’s plan for at least the last week, was to regain the news spotlight he thrives on— and possibly even some long gone momentum— with a “surprise” endorsement from RFK, Jr— the sick transactional stunt the two clowns attempted in Phoenix yesterday. It was so not a surprise that the DNC already had billboards up near the Glendale venue pointing out that Trump, Vance and Kennedy are all “weird as hell,” although there are no mentions of couches, brain worms, dead bear cubs or vax denialism.

In a memo Friday morning, the DNC noted that “MAGA Republicans elevated RFK Jr.’s sham candidacy as a tool to mislead voters and hurt Democrats, and RFK Jr.’s exit is an admission their gambit failed. Here’s what RFK Jr.’s endorsement of Donald Trump would change: nothing… Like RFK Jr., Donald Trump is at a low point and acting out of desperation. Embracing RFK Jr. now— when he has nothing to offer but months of disqualifying revelations— is not a decision a campaign makes when they’re acting from a position of strength.”

NBC News reported that “Kennedy’s decision to back Trump comes after weeks of back-channel courtship. One person familiar with the discussions said that Donald Trump Jr. had been looking to engineer a Kennedy endorsement of his father for six months, with another source noting that Trump Jr. had long felt that Kennedy’s presence in the race was hurt the GOP campaign. For a time, polling was unclear about that question. But it changed dramatically after Harris took over as the Democratic presidential candidate and the polling landscape shifted. It's a reality the Trump campaign acknowledged in a memo from pollster Tony Fabrizo sent to reporters after Kennedy's announcement, which argues its polling shows that Kennedy's vote ‘breaks for President Trump’ in every key state.”

Still, the initial conservations started earlier, about a week before the Republican convention, with right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson connecting Trump Jr. with Kennedy.

From there, Trump Jr. and donor Omeed Malik served as go-betweens to help close the deal. The two sources familiar with the talks said that Kennedy is expected to play a role on the campaign trail going forward.

In an interview, Malik said Kennedy has not been promised a Cabinet position in exchange for his endorsement, though that's something Kennedy running mate Nicole Shanahan suggested when speaking on a podcast earlier this week. (Shanahan did not appear at Friday's event.)

But, Malik said, "I think both President Trump and JD Vance have said as much in the last 24 hours, that should they be successful, there are plenty of roles, and I think the area of health is one," where Kennedy could serve.

"I don't see any downside whatsoever" to Kennedy supporting Trump, Malik said, adding, "These types of events have the potential to really change everything."

At his speech on Friday, Kennedy went onto detail about speaking to and meeting with Trump and his advisers, when he said he discovered "we are aligned on many key issues."

And he implied he's been offered a say in a potential future Trump administration.

"If President Trump is elected and honors his word, the vast burden of chronic disease that now demoralizes and bankrupts the country will disappear," Kennedy said.

"President Trump has told he wants this to be his legacy," Kennedy continued. "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."

And he admitted that aligning with Trump will "a difficult sacrifice for my wife and children but worthwhile if there's even a small chance of saving these kids."

But he stressed that this alliance with Trump "will allow us to disagree publicly and privately," while still working together on their shared goals.

The thing to remember here is that Kenendy’s campaign was a bust and his polling numbers have sunk down to around 2% and falling. He’s been unable to raise any money and he’s failed to get on the ballot in most states. He offered endorsements to both Trump and Kamala in return for a Cabinet-level job for himself. She turned him down flat and Trump, of course, jumped at the opportunity.

Menwhile, at the same time Trump was teasing his deal with Kennedy, a dozen top Republicans lawyers who worked for Reagan, George HW Bush and George W Bush signed a statement of Trump’s unfitness for office (and “detached from reality”) with an endorsement of Kamala. The lawyers were led by Michael Luttig, who worked for Reagan, and was then appointed a federal appeals court judge. Other Reagan appointees include Wendell Willkie II, Associate Counsel to the President, Phillip Brady, Deputy Counsel to the President, Benedict Cohen, Associate Counsel to the President, Peter Keisler, Associate Counsel to the President, David Waller, Senior Associate Counsel to the President, Robert Kruger, Associate Counsel to the President, Nicholas Rostow, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Legal Adviser to the NSC (also held over by George H.W. Bush), Peter Rusthoven, Associate Counsel to the President, Alan Charles Raul, Associate Counsel to the President and General Counsel, OMB (also held over by George H.W. Bush) plus John Mitnick, Associate Counsel to the President and Deputy Counsel, White House Homeland Security Council under George W. Bush and John Bellinger III and Senior Associate Counsel to the President and Legal Adviser to the NSC under George W. Bush.