(Headline USA) Only one month since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was finally granted Secret Service protection, the Biden administration pulled it after the independent presidential candidate suspended his campaign, withdrew from the ballot in several states and formally endorsed former President Donald Trump last week.
Despite rejecting at least five requests from Kennedy’s campaign for a Secret Service detail, the Department of Homeland Security finally approved protection for the former Democrat following the attempted assassination of Trump.
DHS’s hesitance to grant Kennedy protection drew widespread criticism, especially since federal law requires that major presidential candidates and their spouses receive Secret Service protection within 120 days of a general election.
The assassination of the political scion’s uncle, John F. Kennedy, and father, Robert F. Kennedy—who was himself shot while on the presidential campaign trail in 1968—further underscored the outrageous refusal, which many saw as being politically motivated.
Just days after Kennedy announced he was suspending his presidential campaign, DHS pulled Kennedy’s detail.
Kennedy confirmed the situation in an interview with Glenn Beck, saying, “My life is in God’s hands. I’m going to do what I’m going to do, whether I have that or not.”
He went on to slam the Biden administration for the initial rejections of his request for protection, calling the administration’s actions an example of the “weaponization” and “politicization of the agencies.”
Kennedy endorsed Trump last Friday, blasting the Democratic Party for running a “sham” primary election and waging “continual legal warfare against both President Trump and myself.”
The independent candidate said he believes that in an “honest election,” he would have won. But “I no longer believe that I have a realistic path of electoral victory in the face of this relentless, systematic censorship and media control,” he added.
Trump thanked Kennedy for the endorsement at a campaign rally this weekend and reportedly vowed to help Kennedy create a “unity government” that welcomes both Republicans and Democrats who feel disenfranchised by Democratic leadership.
“[Trump] invited me to form a unity government and we agreed to be able to continue to criticize each other on issues on which we don’t agree,” Kennedy said this weekend. “These issues are so important for unifying our country, we need in this country to reach a point where we love our children more than we hate each other.”
