After endorsing Trump, RFK Jr. has a message for supporters: 'Don't vote for me'

This Election Day, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is telling voters across the U.S. who still see his name on ballots to do him a favor: "Don't vote for me."

Kennedy, who ran as a presidential candidate before dropping out of the 2024 race in August and endorsing former President Donald Trump, made the plea to voters in an Instagram post Tuesday.

"If you want to see me in Washington, DC, VOTE FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP. ????," Kennedy's post reads.

Even after dropping out of the race, Kennedy's name will still appear on the Election Day ballot for president in a few states. Here's why.

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Why is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appearing on ballots?

Kennedy is still appearing on ballots in certain states, including battleground states Michigan and Wisconsin, due to the Supreme Court declining to allow the 70-year-old to withdraw his name in late October.

The Supreme Court's decision was based on state election officials saying that early and absentee voting had already begun, therefore Kennedy's plea was essentially too late.

Michigan election officials told the Supreme Court last week that over 1.5 million voters had already returned absentee ballots with Kennedy’s name listed as an option, and that another 263,000 residents had voted early, CNN reported.

“This election is not merely ‘imminent,’ it is already underway, and voters are already voting,” Michigan officials had told the Supreme Court, per CNN.

In August, upon dropping out, Kennedy initially told supporters not in battleground states to vote for him if his name remained on their ballots. Regarding the battleground states, he said he would "remove" his name from their ballots because he could potentially be a "spoiler" and take votes away from Trump.

Why did Robert F. Kennedy endorse Donald Trump?

When Kennedy Jr. announced the suspension of his campaign during a speech in Phoenix, he declared his "support to President Trump" because of free speech, the Russia-Ukraine war and what he called the "war on our children," CBS News reported.

"My joining the Trump campaign will be a difficult sacrifice for my wife and children, but worthwhile if there's even a small chance of saving these kids," he said, adding that he believed processed foods, chemicals and obesity were decimating the health of children in the U.S.

During the speech, Kennedy also said Trump offered him a role in his second administration, dealing with health care and food and drug policy, the New York Times reported. The former candidate added how he was "choosing to believe" that Trump would honor his word "this time," which is a reference to when he claimed Trump reneged on allowing him to chair a commission on vaccine safety in 2017, according to the outlet.

Since dropping out, Trump has suggested at several campaign rallies that Kennedy Jr. will have a “big role in healthcare” if he is reelected. Kennedy said on Saturday that Trump would remove fluoride from public water sources if he is reelected.

“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy said in a post on X, which included unsubstantiated claims that fluoride in U.S. water is linked to numerous medical conditions such as arthritis, bone fractures and bone cancer.

Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr. & Joey Garrison/ USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RFK Jr. tells voters to not 'vote for me' if he appears on ballot