RFK Jr. will address his ‘path forward’ Friday in Phoenix

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will clarify later this week in Arizona whether he plans to stay in the presidential race.

The Kennedy campaign’s announcement comes amid reports and online speculation that he is considering dropping out of the race and endorsing former President Donald Trump.

Nicole Shanahan, his running mate, raised eyebrows this week after she said the campaign is mulling whether staying in the race could help Vice President Kamala Harris defeat Mr. Trump.

“There’s two options that we’re looking at, and one is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and [Minnesota Gov. Tim] Walz presidency because we draw votes from Trump, or we draw somehow more votes from Trump,” Ms. Shanahan told Tom Bilyeu on the Impact Theory podcast.

“Or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump,” she continued. “And you know, we walk away from that and we explain to our base why we’re making this decision … it’s not an easy decision.”

Mr. Kennedy has accused Democratic Party officials of trying to prevent independent presidential contenders from gaining ballot access to increase their chances of winning the White House race, a complaint that has been seconded by fellow hopefuls Jill Stein and Cornel West.

Mr. Kennedy is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and son of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.

The Kennedy family, meanwhile, has signaled displeasure with his bid. They initially rallied behind President Biden and have since supported Ms. Harris.

“Once again, the torch has been passed to a new generation,” Jack Schlossberg, a grandson of the former president, said this week at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, using a famous line Kennedy himself used back then.

Mr. Schlossberg said the torch has been passed “to a leader who shares my grandfather’s energy, vision and optimism for our future. That leader is Vice President Kamala Harris.”