Former President Donald Trump is not ruling out the prospect of picking Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his running mate in the general election.
According to a new report, the former president has made “preliminary overtures” to Kennedy to assess his enthusiasm in the proposal.
“Trump operatives expressed an interest in Kennedy early on, but it was all premature,” an anonymous source told the NY Post. The insider indicated that Trump’s team contacted RFK Jr. very early in his presidential campaign in April 2023.
“Anything’s possible. I wouldn’t write it off by any means,” the source added.
In addition to the source, a major donor to both the Kennedy and Trump campaigns confirmed that the push to recruit Kennedy as Trump’s vice president is still ongoing.
“It’s very much behind the scenes at this stage. As we progress you might see it bubble up a little bit more,” the supporter said. “Bobby can bring new people to the polls.”
Kennedy, who is 70 years old, began his White House campaign as a Democrat last year. Despite routinely polling between 15-20 percent, the Democratic National Committee declined to organize any debates or other primary election events, subsequently naming Biden as the party’s candidate.
Kennedy later stated that he will run for president as an Independent.
The prospect of a Trump-Kennedy ticket has long piqued the interest of political commentators. While many in the Democratic elite and corporate press have labeled Kennedy a “anti-vaxxer” and a “conspiracy theorist,” his candidacy has received support from a number of famous liberals, including former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
It remains to be seen if Kennedy would be interested in taking the role, since he has already said that he would not. Despite their political disputes, the two have previously lauded one other.
In October, Reuters published a story that seems to provide one reason why Donald Trump would be interested in RFK Jr. as a VP nod: It would blunt the third party candidate’s ability to take votes from him in purple states.
Long-shot U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s likely independent bid for the White House may complicate the 2024 race by taking votes away from Democrat Joe Biden or Republican Donald Trump in critical states, political analysts said.
Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine activist, scion of the powerful political family and son of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, is expected to announce in Philadelphia on Oct. 9 that he will drop his challenge to President Biden for the Democratic Party’s nomination, and run as an independent candidate instead.
The two-party system of Democrats and Republicans has dominated presidential politics for more than a century, but third party candidates have influenced the outcome in the past.
RFK Jr’s fierce criticism of Covid-19 vaccines, mandates, and lockdowns would also temper discontent in Trump’s base about the former president’s hands-off approach to managing the pandemic, as well as his continued enthusiasm for Operation Warp Speed.
Lastly, RFK Jr. is a consummate Democratic Party insider who has become a pariah with the DNC establishment. His message could be quite powerful to court independents and alienated young people.
RFK Jr. recently delivered a speech where he bashed the legacy media and lauded popular podcaster Joe Rogan.
In the unlikely event a Trump/Kennedy ticket ever materialized, it could provide a boost among independents and disaffected Democrats, as well as DeSantis supporters who do not believe that Donald Trump would be motivated to pursue a “Covid reckoning.”
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