After the New York Post reported last week that Donald Trump’s team had approached Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “early on” about being his 2024 running mate, the presidential candidate said Monday that, despite what those in Trump’s inner circle are now claiming, that indeed is what happened.
In a NewsNation interview, Kennedy said that he wouldn’t accept the role if offered, but added that he would be “flattered.”
“It’s not something I’m interested in,” said Kennedy, who added that “people from the team have reached out to me.”
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Following the Post’s report, Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita pushed back firmly.
“NO ONE from the Trump Campaign ever approached RFK Jr. (or ever will)—one of the most LIBERAL and radical environmentalists in the country,” he wrote on X. “For all the fake news—update your stories.”
After first entering the race as a Democrat, Kennedy’s bid was aided by right-wing media and Trump-aligned activists. Trump himself called him “a very smart person.”
Yet after the anti-vaccine candidate decided to instead run as an independent, his support in those same circles decreased. In addition to Trump’s spokesperson saying that “voters should not be deceived by anyone who pretends to have conservative values,” Fox News host Sean Hannity declared him “pretty liberal,” listing off several of his past comments and actions for his primetime audience.
After Kennedy ditched the Democratic primary, a comment from someone close to the Trump campaign may sum up how he is now viewed by those pushing for a second Trump administration.
“If he wants to run, run. Fine,” that person told The Daily Beast last October. “But if he chooses to run as an independent, then he’s our opponent.”
