Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. meet following assassination attempt of former president
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met with Donald Trump Monday morning, two days after the former president survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
The two presidential candidates reportedly met and spoke just leading up to the start of the Republican National Convention, scheduled to start Monday and hours before Trump announced his Vice President pick as Ohio senator J.D. Vance.
Trump survived the attempt with only a minor injury while one other person was killed and two others wounded.
Secret service personnel quickly rushed Trump from the stage with blood dripping on his face after gunshots rang out at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooter, identified by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was killed by Secret Service agents.
What did Robert F. Kennedy say about meeting Donald Trump
Kennedy Campaign Press Secretary Stefanie Spear in a statement wrote that:
“Mr. Kennedy met with President Trump today to discuss national unity, and he 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."
Kennedy gets secret service protection
Trump on Monday also called for Kennedy, currently running a distant third in national polls, to be protected by the Secret Service.The attempt on Trump's life led President Joe Biden to direct secret service personnel to provide protection to Kennedy on Monday.
For months, Kennedy had been denied secret service protection despite repeated requests.
Criteria for protection include publicly announcing one's candidacy, facing "general or specific threats" and, for independent and third-party candidates, polling at 20% or above in the Real Clear Politics national average for at least 30 days, according to the Secret Service website.
Kennedy was polling at around 9.4% as of Monday, according to Real Clear Polling's national average.
Kennedy assassinations rocked nation in 1960s
Kennedy's father and uncle were both killed in two of the most high-profile assassinations of the 20th century.
John F. Kennedy was shot and killed while riding in a presidential motorcade on Nov. 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. His brother, and Robert Kennedy Jr.'s father, was killed nearly five years later while serving as a U.S. Senator from New York and running as a Democrat for the presidency.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: RFK Jr. meets with Donald Trump following assassination attempt
