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a critical platform, it not stop me -- >> you are with bbc. welcome to our viewers around the world and on pbs in america. this is a statement being given by robert f. kennedy, jr., announcing his plans to drop out of the presidential race. he was standing as an independent candidate in the presidential race, but h says he will quit that race, and reports suggest he is throwing his support behind the campaign of donald trump. we'll listen in and we will talk about what it means in just a moment. so let's take you first of all to our correspondent in washington for us right now. you are listening to that statement, that speech by robert f.ennedy, jr., as we are. he has made a number of stements. it's clear at this stage that he is dropping out of the race, and

some reports suggest he is throwing his weight behind the campaign of donald trump. >> yes, and we have seen court papers were he is withdrawing a challenge to his name appearing on the ballot in pennsylvania, and it says on that court paper that he is endorsing trump. i think he's said that in his speech so far. this is the latest export mary development -- extraordinary development in what has been an extraordinary presidential re. we have someone who comes from a family with deep democratic roots. now it looks like he's going to be supporting the republican candidate, donald trump. he addressed this immediately in his speech. he said that he pledged his alliance just like his father, robert kennedy, who was the democrat resident a candidate in the late 1960's who was assassinated, and just like his uncle, president kennedy, jfk, who was also assassinated.

he has spoken at length about how he feels the party has moved away from its core values. he said that they now support censorship, corruption, big pharma, and big money. and he has attacked the party for what he says is their throwing up legal barriers to his name appearing on ballots in different states. and he has also attacked the media, saying that they have excluded him in debates and impeded his campaign. the background to this is his campaign was struggling when kamala harris entered the race. he saw a dip in his popularity. he has pulled at his height at around 15%, but recent polls show he was around 5%. he has been struggling in the polls. he has also been struggling financially. the campaign is in debt by millions of pounds. he has also had some expensive

legal challenges to deal with as he has faced a ban on his name appearing on some ballots. some of the reasons behind this decision. we are waiting to hear whether there will be, if he does endorse donald trump, whether there will be any indication as to him getting something in return -- for example, a position in the trump administration. >> jenny, for now, thanks very much, jenny kumar in washingn for us. just as we were talking there to jenny, confirmation is expected, as had been widely tipped that he will suspend his campaign. crucial wine in this, our of cake -- crucial line in this, rfk, jr., saying'm not ending my campaign, i'm suspending

it. saying i encourage you to vote for me, but at the same time making it clear that he had no realistic chance of winng the election. of course, now this is two-party race between kamala harris and donald trump. rfk, jr., who was standing as an independent, saying he is suspending his campaign and he will remove his name from the ballot in 10 battleground states. nonetheless he says "i am not terminating the campaign, i'm simply suspending it." the crucial line in all of this, we will discuss what this could mean for donald trump and kamala harris in just a moment. but rfk, jr., saying he will throw his support behind the campaign of donald trump, endorsing former president trump in the race for the white house in november. there are 72 days to go until the election in the united a lot can happen in that time. today a significant moment that

the independent candidate in this presidential campaign, this presidential election, dropping out and throwing his support behind that of the campaign of donald trump. the big question, though, what impact could it have on the election itself. on this stage it is impossible to say for certain. most of rfk, jr.'s, supporters are independent swing voters. as of wednesday, he was polling just under 5% nationally. most of his support is made up of independent voters who either didn't want to vote for donald trump or joe biden. in fact his support almost halved when joe biden quit the race in july. you can see on this graph that huge fall, that big drop in his support as soon as voters were given an option that either wasn't donald trump or joe biden. polls suggested a large portion of those voters switched their support instead to kamala harris.

but what about those voters w remaining loyal to rfk even after joe biden quit the race? have a look at this, this is in august poll from reuters, kamala harris leading donald trump by five points nationally, just 4% for rfk, jr., 15% undecided or voting for another candidate. so if those same voters are forced to choose between ms. harris and mr. trump, this is how a good look. her leadership is to just 2% over donald trump - lead shrinks to just 2% over donald trump. those few present could make a huge cash those few put -- those few percent could make a huge difference. let's talk to michelle bernard of the women's center for politics a public policy. she has been at the democratic conference convention this week in chicago. , also a former speechwriter for george w. bush.

good to have you both with us on the program. there is a lotf talk about as far as the announcement is concerned. what do you make of that announcement? why the expected but crucially throwing his support behind that of donald trump? >> i actually find it very sad. i have followed the kennedy family, as most americans and people around the world have, r many, many years, and for a family that had been such a staunch defenders of american democracy, i find it very odd that robert kennedy would throw his support towards donald trump , who many ople believe is the gravest threat to american democracy in many, many, many, many years. i find it very sad that he would somehow find it appropriate to support former president trump, given l of the attacks that trump has made to individual rights and civil liberties in the united states. >> but he was also pretty

critical of the democratic party, saying kamala harris had been appointed without due process, that she hadn't given any proper interviews, she had not talked about policy on the campaign trail. very critical of how the democrats have handled this transition of power. michelle: he has been very critical, but he needs to go in and actually look at the rules. if he were to go in and take a look at what happened with president biden stepping down, it's unprecedented. people had to go back and look at the rules of the democratic party, of the democratic convention, and what it is that needed to be done. they follow the process. in that sense he is absolutely incorrect. the delegates all had to decide who they were going to support, and they did that. they follow the rules to a t. in that sense he is reporting ms. truths sump -- mistruths someone in the same way we have become accustomed to donald

trump during the same. was she voted on during any of the caucuses and primaries? no, she was the vice president or candidate, not the presidential candidate. but she has not been appointed. we do not have a monarchy in the united states. she had to fight for the votes of everything will delegate who cast their votes for her and made her the democratic nominee . >> let's bring you in on the stage, too, rfk, jr., saying he is throwing his support to donald trump. the reasons he is doing that he says because of free speech, the war in ukraine, and the war on our children. what does he mean by that? >> well, i'm not sure what he means by that exactly. there were reports that he had approach the harris campaign earlier about a possible endorsement and there wasn't a lot of interest there. i think the candidacy of rfk showshat there are aspects of both parties that he couldn't stitch up and represent. in terms of worry about free

speech, there is definitely as we heard in the interview just now a problem with censoring of reviews and of that being decided by social-media companies, and it was revealed the federal government was pressuring companies to suppress true reports such as right before our last presidential election, there was a laptop discovered that belonged to president biden's son hunter, and that was suppressed on social media. the outlet that broke the story, "the new york pt," had its traffic throttled, they couldn't advertise in a normal ways. that is one of the issues that rfk is talking about that he himself has experienced about announcements that were innocuous with his campaign. >> is he a sore loser in all of this? i'm just looking at his comments about the electoral comments -- he says "in a normal system i would've won the election. my father and uncle thrived in a system with fair primaries and a truly independent media,

untainted by government propaganda and censorship. in a system of nonpartisan courts and election boards, everything would be different." these are the words of a man who had the support of about 5% nationally. he was never going to win, was he? anneke: no, he was never going to win, and i would question his version of how things were when his father and uncle were running. notoriously, john f. kennedy's private affairs with other women were not reported on, the media was silent about that. there have been a lot of things at times in our past and now that depending on who is in office, often if it is a democrat, the media is complicit in the trying to make that person look good and we are seeing that with kamala harris. some of that is natural with convention. most of the people in the american media tend to be liberal, that is well-established by data. it is not necessarily malicious. but in this case, kamala's candidacy is very much a vibes

candidacy and many in the press are determined to haul her over the finish line. >> yeah, so interesting. michelle, i wonder what you make of that, too. it's an indictment of the u.s. electoral system, in his words, we are not saying it is correct, but a parting shot from rfk saying that the system is broken. michelle: the system in many ways is broken but in many ways it is not. what i would argue is i think it is pretty damning that he does not have the support of one member of the kennedy family and is bid-- in his bid for the presidency. the one thing we can say in our electoral system is the voters have spoken. if rfk were at the top of the ticket, if people voted for him, if people donated money to his campaign and we could e palpable evidence of a following that wanted him to be the next president of the united states, there is no media in the united states or anywhere else in the world that could hide that from the american public.

he simply just does not have the support. if your own family will not support you in a bid for the presidency, why would the american public do so as well? i think that is a very strong indictment against him and his prospects for the presidency of the united states. moreover, if you look at the history of his family and the reverence that many people have for the kennedy family, i have to believe that his uncle and his father would be aghast at looking at who donald trump is as a human being that rfk would lend his support to the man who is virtually a terrorist when it comes to individual rights and civil liberties and many other things in the united states. he has basically thrown his support at a man who is an avowed rapist, about sexist, an avowed racist.

that is why he has not done well in his bid for the presidency. >> anneke, you are shaking your head. anneke: yeah, i'm saddenedo hear such blatant misinformation repeated with a straight face. yes, yes been called a lot of things for some he is not itself about anything -- a self-avowed anything. the one trial he was convicted and, those charges were elevated from a misdemeanor to a felony for the purpose of giving the democrats the talking point that he is a felon, and it doesn't matter. with rfk, jr., he has appealed to not only independents, but republicans and democrats, and that is interesting because there are members of both parties who are not happy where the party has gone, and on the left is democrats who are middle-of-the-road, moderate, who are reasonable, who are not happy with the progressive wing of the party seizing control with seeing college students on campus is celebrating terrorist attack, actu terrorist attacks in israel, where people were

raped and murdered, which that is what many in the modern democratic party support. kamala harris in her speech did a great job with that issue. as a speechwriter, i was very impressed with that and i thought it showed a lot of thought and care put into those issues. but that is why a lot of democrats were looking at rfk, jr., because that is the direction the democratic party has been heading. >> we will talk about the democratic convention that is wrapped up in chicago in just a moment. for now, both of you, thank you, stay with us,e will talk to you in a moment. we said earlier that rfk, jr.'s, name will remain on a lot of belly papers. it will be removed from 10 specific ones and the key battleground states. he said "my presence there would be a spoiler to the outcome," so he will remove his name from the ballot paper in 10 key battleground states. elsewhere, "if my name remains on the ballot, if you want to vote for me you can."

in the crucial battleground states his name will be removed, leaving that as a two-party race in those key states. we will talk about the democratic convention in just a moment, but around the world and across the u.k., this is bbc news. ♪

>> you are with "the context" from bbc news. let's return to events in chicago, because the excitement and energy of the party conventions in america can feel like a grand finale, a big celeation, a victory lap. but in reality the campaign is only just beginning. in the closing of the democratic convention in chicago, kamala harris pledged to lead for all americans and create an opportunity economy, she said, and what was a highly personal headline speech. vice pres. harris: i will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations, a

president who leads and listens, who is realistic, practical, and has common sense, and always fights for the american people. from the courthouse to the white house, that has been my life's work. >> we will discuss how long that euphoria will last. meanwhile, her opponent, donald trump, has been campaigning at the southern u.s. border, focusing on immigration. he's got a pretty busy schedule. shortly he will be onstage in las vegas and later in arizona. both states are seen as key battlegrounds in that election in november. let's talk once again to michelle and anneke. anneke, there is a lot for president trump to get his teeth into after the democratic convention in chicago.

i wonder whether he has been caught off guard, because it is not clear where his messaging or lines of attack will be when it comes to kamala harris. anneke: years having to adjust but he has the same problem that the american people and the media have, she is not saying much. if you go to her campaign website, she has no sections on what her policies are. she was the running mate in an established campaign and has been in the white house for three years, but the biden-harris positions are not necessarily her positions or her own very liberal past positions. she was in the senate before she was vice president, she was rated by a nonpartisan organization to be the second most the role member of the senate behind bernie sanders -- second most liberal member of the senate behind bernie sanders. we don't know if you still believe that. in the convention she struck a moderate note. i think bill clinton would be pleased, that was his winning playbook, and that traditionly is what you have. -- have to do to win in america

-- >> she is sort of in a difficult position because she cannot distance herself too much because she is still vice president. anneke: yet she is doing that. it is notable that michelle obama felt comfortable in that speech said "for the first time i have hope." her party has been in the white house. they are distancing themselves from biden. they are acting as if kamala is a new entity who hasn't been on the scene and as if the current state of the country is not her responsibility, but that she is bringing something new. i think that is strategically smart. >> michelle, does anneke have a point? we don't know much about what i harris white house would look like. she touched on a little bit of policy in the speech. the republicans want to brand her as dangerously liberal. do voters know what she stands for? michelle: you know, i really struggle with so many of the questions about who kamala harris is and what she stands

for in the sense that one of the things that i think people are very focused on in the united states is not only who she is and who she stands for, but what she is not and how different she is than donald trump. yesterday i believe she did an absolutely phenomenal job of introducing herself, or let's say reintroducing herself to the american public. for the last four years her job has been to be the vice president. her job has not been to in any way, shape, or form sort of outshine president biden. many people met her for the first time last night. we learned about her family, learned about her upbringing, you learned about her values, you learn how patriotic she is. like kamala, the vice president, i should say, i ,too, and the daughter of immigrants, and immigrants come to the united states and you learned so much

as the child of immigrants about what it is to be american. when she stood there last night and said that one of the greatest privileges of her life is to call herself an american, i think we heard all we needed to hear about what she stands for. when she talked about immigration and making sure that we have the most lethal military in the world, we know she stands tough on national defense. >> yeah. we will talk more in a moment, but i wanted to touch on one of the key issues that is a bit of a problem at the convention. there's been a lot of buzz in chicago, but one issue is causing problems for kamala harris. that is, of course, the conflict in the middle east. there were protests during the week largely from pro-palestinian groups calling on the biden administration to end funding for israel and commit to a cease-fire in gaza. there has been the schism of the democratic party for not granting any palestinian americans speaking spot at the

convention. let's talk to a policy correspondent. talk about the significance about not being granted that speaking slot. >> thanks for having me on this is a problem that was brewing for the entirety of the primary, but since joe biden dropped out, the uncommitted movement and delegates had been trying to negotiate with the harris campaign so they could have a speaking slot at the convention and shed light and highlight human suffering in the gaza strip and the ongoing israeli assault on gaza which has taken the lives of over 40,000 palestinians, many of whom are children. and so the harris campaign and the democratic party's resistance to having a palestinian speaker, particularly palestinian-amican speaker, really rubbed a lot of voters the wrong way as to how this campaign is going to prioritize this issue and how the campaign is going to handle it and whether or not they are going to try to distance themselves from

the biden administration and biden's policies on gaza, which have been deeply unpopular among arab americans and their allies. >> the campaign manager said they met leaders from the uncommitted movement and there had been number of speakers who spoke about the war in gaza and the need to seek a cease-fire and you will hear that to the convention. is that not enough? abdallah: i mean, that's the thing, it's kind of a matter of who controlled the narrative. i think that only begs the question, if they are comfortable calling for a cease-fire themselves on the main stage, why is it that a palestinian can't make that call themselves? after all, that is the population that is being affected by this war. that is the population that actually feels the pain of this war and has family in the regio that is getting killed day in and day out. there are massacres almost on a daily basis. why is it ok for people on the main stage to call for a

cease-fire, why is it ok to have family members of an israeli american hostage, but it is not ok for the democratic party to hear directly from the voices of people who are directly impacted by the war? and that too many people i --t o my people is blatantly racist. >> abdallah, we are out of time, but it is good talk to you. anneke and michell good to ha announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. annocer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

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