THERE were plenty of red flags — of the warning, not the socialist, kind — the minute Robert F Kennedy Jnr threw his hat into the US presidential campaign, first as a Democrat, then switching last October to run as an independent. 

Those warnings reached their most bizarre apex — or possibly nadir — on Friday when Kennedy held a long and rambling press conference, during which he announced he was suspending his campaign and would endorse Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump. 

“In my heart I no longer believe I have a realistic path to victory,” Kennedy said, although he will keep his name on the ballot in safe states where he cannot act as a spoiler. The press conference, streamed live online, was described as Kennedy’s “address to the nation,” although only around 35,000 watched out of a US population of just over 345 million.