RFK Jr apologizes for leaked phone call with Trump after assassination attempt

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has issued an apology after his son, Bobby Kennedy III, leaked a recording of a private phone conversation between RFK Jr. and former President Donald Trump. The call took place the day after Trump survived an assassination attempt.

Bobby Kennedy III shared the recording on social media, explaining in his post that he believed such conversations should be public. 

“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,”  he wrote, according to the National Pulse. The post, along with the video, has since been deleted.

In the leaked conversation, Trump discussed his interactions with President Biden following the shooting and described how the bullet that grazed his ear felt like "the world’s largest mosquito." He also mentioned that turning his head to reference a chart on a large screen may have saved his life.

Following the leak, RFK Jr. expressed his embarrassment and regret over the incident, stating he was “mortified” a private conversation was posted online.

“When President Trump called me I was taping with an in-house videographer. I should have ordered the videographer to stop recording immediately,” he said in a statement.

“I apologize to the president,” he added.

The conversation also saw the two presidential candidates speak about childhood vaccines, a topic that RFK Jr. has faced routine criticism over. Trump expressed concerns about babies “starting to change radically” after receiving multiple high-dose inoculations at the same time. He also seemed to imply that RFK Jr. could have a role relating to the issue in a future Trump administration.