A video of a phone call between Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leaked on Tuesday. According to news agency Reuters, the conversation between the two took place on Sunday, a day after an assassination attempt on Trump during a rally.
In the leaked video, the former US President suggested to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that he could do something to support his campaign. The video of the phone call was posted on social media and confirmed by Kennedy.
"I would love you to do something, and I think it would be so good for you and so big for you," Trump can be heard saying via speaker phone in the video. He was apparently referring to the 2024 presidential election race to the White House, as quoted by Reuters. "We're gonna win," he said. In response Kennedy said, "Yeah."
Referring to Democratic incumbent President Joe Biden, Trump further stated, "We're way ahead of the guy". The Republican presidential nominee also spoke to Kennedy about Saturday's assassination attempt, saying that the bullet that hit his ear "felt like a giant - like the world's largest mosquito."
Speaking to Kennedy about his telephonic conversation with Biden after the assassination attempt, Trump said, "It was very nice, actually."
During the phone call, Trump also spoke about vaccines, which echoed some of Kennedy's earlier views. According to Reuters, he has spread misinformation on vaccines for years.
"When you feed a baby, Bobby," Trump said, "a vaccination that is like 38 different vaccines, and it looks like it's meant for a horse, not a, you know, 10-pound or 20-pound baby... and then you see the baby all of a sudden starting to change radically.” “And then you hear that it doesn't have an impact, right? But you and I talked about that a long time ago," he further stated.
Kennedy Apologises For Phone Call Video Leak
After the video of a telephonic conversation between Trump and Kennedy leaked on social media, Kennedy took to X on Tuesday to apologise to the former US President.
"When President Trump called me I was taping with an in-house videographer," he wrote. "I should have ordered the videographer to stop recording immediately. I am mortified that this was posted," he added.
A day earlier, Kennedy posted on X about meeting with Trump, writing, "Our main topic was national unity, and I hope to meet with Democratic leaders about that as well. No, I am not dropping out of the race."
Democratic Party Sees Kennedy As ‘Election Spoiler’
The Democratic Party sees Kennedy, who began the race as a Democratic candidate before declaring himself independent, as an election "spoiler" who would divert votes away from Biden and, as a result, help Trump win the November US presidential elections, as reported by Reuters.
Democratic National Committee spokesperson Matt Corridoni said on X that Kennedy also had dinner with conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson at the Republican National Convention, taking place in Milwaukee this week. "He (Kennedy) has no path to victory in this race and is nothing more than a spoiler for Trump," said DNC Communications Adviser Lis Smith.