RFK Jr apologises after leaked phone call in which Trump seems to offer deal

The independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr apologised to Donald Trump on Tuesday, after Kennedy’s son posted video and audio of a call between the two men in which Trump made bizarre remarks about vaccines and babies, as well as appearing to offer Kennedy some sort of political deal.

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

The call was apparently made before Trump and Kennedy’s later meeting on Monday at the Republican national convention in Milwaukee, reportedly to discuss the possibility of Kennedy endorsing Trump.

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The recording was posted online by Kennedy’s son, Bobby Kennedy III, with the message: “I am a firm believer that these sorts of conversations should be had in public. Here’s Trump giving his real opinion to my dad about vaccinating kids – this was the day after the assassination attempt.”

Trump survived an assassination attempt on Saturday, during a rally in Pennsylvania when a gunman with an AR-15-style rifle opened fire from a nearby rooftop, grazing the president’s ear and killing a rally-goer.

Robert Kennedy Jr’s father, the US attorney general and senator Robert F Kennedy, and uncle, President John F Kennedy, were assassinated in the 1960s. After the Trump shooting, Joe Biden ordered the Secret Service to protect Kennedy.

The video of the Trump-Kennedy call is a little over one minute and 40 seconds long. It shows Kennedy standing close to a US flag in a dimly lit room, holding a phone and listening to Trump on speaker.

Parts of Trump’s remarks are hard to hear. But he can be heard speaking about a subject close to Kennedy’s heart: the supposed dangers of vaccinations.

A former environmental attorney, Kennedy rose to prominence before and during the Covid pandemic by spreading conspiracy theories about vaccines and their supposed effects.

Trump was president in the first year of the pandemic, a period of rapid development of Covid vaccines but also growing rightwing distrust of public health directives.

In his call with Kennedy, Trump says: “I agree with you, man. Something’s wrong with that whole system.”

Kennedy says: “Yeah.”

Trump continues: “And it’s the doctors you find. Remember I said, ‘I want to do small doses.’ Small doses.”

His words then take a bizarre turn.

“When you feed a baby, Bobby, a vaccination that is like 38 different vaccines, and it looks like it’s meant for a horse, not a, you know, 10lb or 20lb baby, it looks like you’re giving, you should be giving a horse this thing, and do you ever see the size of it? It’s massive and then you see the baby all of a sudden starting to change radically. I’ve seen it too many times. And then you hear that it doesn’t have an impact, right? But you and I talked about that a long time ago.”

Trump then appears to suggest the two men work together.

“Anyway, I would love you to do something and I think it would be so good for you, and so big for you.”

Kennedy listens. Trump’s words become hard to make out. He describes the shooting in Pennsylvania, saying the bullet that grazed him “sounded like the world’s largest mosquito”.

“It’s an AR-15 or something,” says the former president, who rejects efforts for gun control reform. “That’s a big gun. Those are pretty tough guns, right?”

In posting the recording, Bobby Kennedy III also suggested Anthony Fauci, formerly Biden’s chief medical adviser, should be in prison; appeared to suggest his father should have been Trump’s running mate on a “unity ticket” rather than “JD ‘fire all the unvaccinated nurses’ Vance”, the Ohio senator named on Monday; and implied Republicans and Democrats were subordinate to Pfizer, a multinational vaccine producer.

Kennedy III added: “This is not a cheapfake or somebody doing a Trump voice. This is the real deal.”

Polling shows that Kennedy could influence the presidential race in key states. Debate continues over whether he pulls more support from Biden or Trump.

Kennedy’s spokesperson, Stephanie Spear, confirmed the two men met at the RNC in Milwaukee, claiming it was “to discuss national unity” and saying that Kennedy “hopes to meet with leaders of the Democratic party as well.

“And no, he is not dropping out of the race. He is the only pro-environment, pro-choice, anti-war candidate who beats Donald Trump in head-to-head polls.”