(CNN) � Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced at a news conference in Phoenix Friday that he is suspending his presidential campaign.
“In my heart, I no longer believe that I have a realistic path of electoral victory in the face of this relentless, systematic censorship and media control. So I cannot, in good conscience, ask my staff and volunteers to keep working their long hours, or ask my donors to keep giving when I cannot honestly tell them that I have a real path to the White House,� he said.
Kennedy then said he will now “throw my support to President Trump.�
“Three great causes drove me to enter this race in the first place, primarily, and these are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent, and now to throw my support to President Trump,� he said.
His announcement came shortly after a in Pennsylvania said he was withdrawing from a ballot access challenge in the state “as a result of today’s endorsement� of former President Donald Trump.
“Respondents Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Nicole Shanahan as the We The People candidates for President and Vice President of the United States, as a result of today’s endorsement of Donald Trump for the office of President of the United States hereby withdraw their opposition to the Petition of Alexander Reber and Janneken Smucker’s,� the filing stated.
Paul Rossi, the attorney who made the filing, told CNN that he had “misstated� Kennedy’s plans and that they were working to correct the mistake in a new court filing.
“We’re filing an amended notice in Pennsylvania,� Rossi said.
In a statement, Kennedy campaign spokesperson Stefanie Spear said Kennedy has not endorsed Trump.
“Mr. Kennedy has not endorsed President Trump. The filing was made by an attorney and not reviewed by the campaign,� Spear said.
Kennedy campaign adviser Del Bigtree told CNN said he wasn’t aware of the filing and said, “I’m surprised to see that.�
Trump is also holding a rally in Arizona on Friday, where the campaign has teased the appearance of a “special guest.�
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
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