Independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. plans to withdraw from race

Independent candidate for the presidency of the United States, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., plans to withdraw from the race before the end of the week, our American colleagues at ABC News reported on Wednesday, August 21, citing anonymous sources. Those close to him announced earlier in the day that he will address the nation on Friday from Arizona State.

Robert Kennedy Junior is the son of former Democratic attorney general and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968, but also the nephew of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, killed five years earlier. A lawyer specializing in environmental issues, he has been known since 2005 for spreading conspiracy theories about vaccines, particularly linking autism to one of their components.

False declaration of residence

Supported neither by the Republicans nor by the Democrats, the septuagenarian was barred from running in New York state in early August because of a false residency declaration. The heir to the famous American dynasty, who will appeal this decision made by a court in the city of Albany, declared himself as a resident of a room rented for 500 dollars a month by friends in the state of New York.

But Judge Christina Ryba ruled that Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. lived well at home with his wife in California. Consequence: for the November 5 presidential election, in which Robert F. Kennedy is running in 19 of the 50 states, the New York Election Commission will not be able to print ballots in RFK’s name. Due to a constitutional quirk and the indirect presidential election method in the United States, candidates for president and vice president cannot reside in the same state, at the risk of not being able to win all the major electoral votes. However, Robert F. Kennedy and his running mate Nicole Shanahan both live in California. A court decision and a final dispute that could well have motivated the independent candidate to abandon the race.