Third party presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former President Donald Trump.
Kevin Dickey/Getty Images, Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
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Kevin Dickey/Getty Images, Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
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A leaked video of a phone call between third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump shows the former president expressing skepticism about vaccines and recounting the attempt on his life and subsequent call with President Joe Biden .
Kennedy’s son, Bobby Kennedy III, appeared to have posted the nearly two-minute clip on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday morning. Kennedy’s son has since deleted his tweet, but several other accounts retweeted the video, which he said was filmed on Sunday, the day after Trump’s assassination attempt.
After the assassination attempt, Trump discussed his views on vaccines with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.:
“I agree with you, man. There’s something wrong with the whole system and it’s the doctor you get.
Remember I said I wanted to do small doses. small dose. When you feed the baby, Bobby,… pic.twitter.com/gDpYUuNTjQ
— End Tribalism in Politics (@EndTribalism) July 16, 2024
Kennedy’s political campaign centered on a conspiratorial worldview, including promoting misleading claims that vaccines are harmful. Trump, on the other hand, oversaw the nation’s initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the federal government’s development of the first vaccines against the virus.
The video shows Kennedy standing in a room hung with an American flag, holding an iPhone and listening intently to Trump’s speech on the speaker phone.
As the recording begins, Trump can be heard saying: “I agree with you, man. There’s something wrong with the whole system, and the problem is with the doctors you get.
“Remember I said ‘I want to do small doses. Small doses,'” Trump added, echoing comments he made on the 2015 debate stage related to childhood vaccines.
“When you’re feeding a baby, Bobby, the vaccinations are like 38 different vaccines and it looks like it’s designed for a horse, not for, you know, a 10-pound or 20-pound baby.”
Referring to previous such conversations with Kennedy – whom he has frequently attacked personally this election season – Trump said: “You and I discussed this a long time ago.” Kennedy said “yes,” which was The only time he speaks in the video.
Trump also appears to have asked Kennedy for help, but the specific purpose is unclear. “I hope you can do something,” Trump said, without providing more context. “I think it’s very good for you and very important for you. We’re going to win.”
Trump and Kennedy met in Milwaukee on Monday, hours before Trump officially became the Republican nominee. The meeting sparked a flood of rumors, which Kennedy tried to quash in a tweet later in the day.
“Our main theme is national unity and I would also like to meet with Democratic leaders on this,” he wrote. “No, I will not withdraw from the race.”
The Biden administration announced on Monday that Biden had directed the U.S. Secret Service to provide protection to Kennedy in light of his assassination, something Trump also urged in a social media post that day.
Trump also discussed his near-death experience in a phone call with Kennedy, saying the bullet felt “like the biggest mosquito in the world.”
“It was a, what do they call it, an AR-15 or something like that, that’s a big gun,” Trump added, making his first public appearance at the convention Monday night with a large white bandana wrapped around his ear. bandage.
Trump also recalled his phone call with Biden after the shooting, saying, “It was a really good call, actually.”
He said he told the president he turned around at just the right moment when he showed a graph at a rally about the number of immigrants pouring into our country, adding: “I didn’t have to tell him that this graph was about the influx of immigrants into our country. for everyone.
The video began circulating on social media on Tuesday morning, prompting Kennedy to apologize on Twitter.
“I was recording with an in-house photographer when President Trump called me,” he wrote. “I should have ordered the photographer to stop recording immediately. I am ashamed that this message was published. I apologize to the president.”
Contents of this report originally appeared as part of the NPR Network RNC field report.
