Before Robert F. Kennedy announces his running mate Tuesday in Oakland, California, the independent presidential candidate revealed during a radio appearance Monday that his campaign approached rapper Killer Mike about joining him on the ticket.
Kennedy, whose presidential ambitions have drawn condemnation from many of his relatives, was asked about his choice on KCBS Radio’s “The State of California.”
“There is widespread speculation that it’s Nicole Shanahan,” the station’s political reporter, Doug Sovern, began, referring to California-based attorney and ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Shanahan contributed $4 million for a pro-Kennedy Super Bowl ad, according to The New York Times.
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“She’s originally from Oakland. Apart from all the money she brings to the table as a successful businesswoman, which your campaign needs to get on state ballots, what qualifies her to be president of the United States?” Sovern asked.
Kennedy first listed other potential candidates he had contacted.
“Well, I talked to Nicole. We talked to Mike Rowe. We talked to Aaron Rodgers,” Kennedy said. “We talked to Killer Mike and a number of other people about the vice presidential slot.”
Killer Mike, whose real name is Michael Render, garnered headlines last month for being arrested while at the Grammys for what an LAPD spokesperson said was a “physical altercation.” Render’s latest album, Michael, won the Grammy that night for Best Rap Album, and the 48-year-old artist also took home awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance.
“We were looking for somebody who could represent young people,” Kennedy explained. “Millennials and Gen Z—they’re the priority of my campaign, just as young people were in 1968 the priority of my father’s campaign, and in 1960, my uncle.”
“So I really wanted somebody young,” Kennedy went on. “Nicole, I think she’s 38 years old. I wanted somebody who’s super smart. I wanted an athlete who could inspire Americans to get healthy again. And I wanted people who can do critical thinking, who have open minds, who will listen to people and listen with compassion. And I wanted somebody who’s committed to ending—unraveling the war machine and the corporate capture.”
Kennedy then circled back again to Shanahan, saying she “has so many qualifications.”
At least 26 states require Kennedy to have a running mate when he files his nomination papers to try to get on the ballot in November, according to NBC News. Kennedy is already on the ballot in Utah, and his campaign has said he has gathered enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in Nevada, Hawaii and New Hampshire.
American Values 2024, the Super Pac that ran the pro-Kennedy Super Pac ad, said it has enough signatures to get Kennedy on the ballot in Arizona, Michigan, Georgia and South Carolina.
