Robert F Kennedy's decision to stand down in several "battleground" states in the US election will "give Trump a boost" ahead of November.
The 70-year-old independent candidate confirmed his decision during an address to the nation in Phoenix, Arizona.
In his speech, Kennedy announced: "I want everyone to know that I am not terminating my campaign. I am simply suspending it and not ending it.
"My name will remain on the ballot in most states. If you live in a blue state, you can vote for me without harming or helping President Trump or Vice President Harris.
Robert F Kennedy Jr has removed his name from '10 battleground states' ahead of the November election
Reuters
"In about 10 battleground states where my presence would be a spoiler, I’m going to remove my name, and I’ve already started that process and urge voters not to vote for me."
Reacting to the announcement on GBN America, Co-Founder and President of RealClearPolitics Tom Bevan claimed that RFK Jr's decision will "boost Trump" in the ballot after previously appearing to "give Kamala a boost" in battleground state.
Bevan explained: "It looks like RFK Jr was actually helping Kamala Harris more in these battleground states.
"So if he's not on the ballot there, that could actually give Trump a boost."
RFK Jr urged supporters to still vote for him in 'Blue states'
Reuters
Detailing RFK Jr's past "struggle" in getting onto the ballot as an independent candidate after being snubbed by the Democrats, Bevan noted that he "delayed a lot of petition filings" to avoid being challenged by Biden's party.
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Bevan told GBNA: "For a long time he was struggling when getting petitions to get on the ballot. That's a huge part of our process, you have to get a bunch of signatures.
"He delayed a lot of those filings to give the Democrats less time to challenge them in court, you can actually challenge the signatures on these petitions. And so he did make it onto a lot of these states."
Turning the discussion to how RFK Jr's move affects the votes in battleground states, Bevan highlighted how Harris has a "small lead" in two out of the seven battleground states.
Bevan told host Steven Edginton: "If you look at those seven battleground states, in two of them, Kamala Harris has a small lead. Wisconsin and Michigan, with the addition of RFK, her lead grows - not a lot, but by about half a per cent to a per cent.
Tom Bevan says the move by RFK Jr is 'very important' to the election race
GBNA
"In two other states, Nevada and Georgia, Trump has a small lead, and when RFK and the other candidates are added to the ballot, his lead grows by a little bit. But the two main, most important states, Pennsylvania and Arizona, Trump currently holds a really small lead in those states.
"But when the third party candidates are added to the ballot, it actually tips those states in Kamala Harris's favour. So it's very, very close. But it looks like RFK was actually helping Kamala Harris more in these battleground states.
"So if he's not on the ballot there, that could actually give Trump a boost. And again, these states could be decided by 5,000 votes, 10,000 votes and 15,000 votes. And so without him on the ballot, it could be could be very, very important."