RFK Jr. apologizes to Trump for leaked video of phone call

Karissa Waddick and David Jackson, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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Donald Trump told independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that “we’re gonna win,” pushed conspiracy theories about vaccines and appeared to discuss Kennedy’s future in a recording of their private phone call Monday that surfaced online.

Kennedy met with Trump on Monday, two days after the Republican nominee survived assassination attempt, in a call he previously had said was about “national unity.”

In the one minute and 40-second clip of the call posted on social media, Trump can be heard alluding to Kennedy’s long history as an anti-vaccine advocate. He also appears to suggest that Kennedy should continue work in that arena.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a campaign event to announce his pick for a running mate at the Henry J. Kaiser Event Center in Oakland, California, on March 26, 2024. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. complained to the US election campaign watchdog that cable news network CNN colluded with President Joe Biden and Donald Trump to exclude him from the first televised presidential debate, his campaign said on May 29, 2024. The independent candidate accuses CNN of demanding that he meet different qualification standards for the June 27 showdown than the Democratic leader and his Republican rival, making the debate an illegal campaign contribution to both.

“I want to do small doses,” Trump said. “When you feed a baby a vaccination that is like 38 different vaccines, and it looks like it is good for a horse, not a 10 pound or 20-pound baby... then you see the baby all of a sudden starting to change radically.”

“Anyway, I would love you to do stuff. And I think it would be so good for you and so big for you,” Trump added.

Democratic National Committee spokesperson Matt Corridoni responded to the video in a post on X, saying "When people show you who they are, believe them," about Kennedy.

Trump on the call also said his conversation with President Joe Biden after the shooting was “very nice actually.”

Former President Donald Trump arrives at the Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wis.
Former President Donald Trump arrives at the Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wis.

“He said, how did you choose to move to the right,” Trump remembered of his call with Biden. He described the feeling of the bullet piercing his ear as akin to “the world’s largest mosquito.”

Kennedy confirmed that authenticity of the video and apologized to former President Donald Trump on Tuesday morning in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“When President Trump called me I was taping with an in-house videographer. I should have ordered the videographer to stop recording immediately,” he wrote Tuesday. “I am mortified that this was posted. I apologize to the president.”

Kennedy has rejected reports that he is planning to drop out of the 2024 race to endorse Trump. Biden on Monday authorized Secret Service protection for Kennedy in the wake of Saturday's shooting.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RFK Jr. apologizes to Trump for leaked video of phone call