Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has projected total confidence in his longshot bid for president, declaring that he thinks he “can win the White House,” even though he averages around just 10 percent support in national polls.
Now, in a new interview, his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, seemed to acknowledge that those lofty ambitions may be a pipe dream, and that the duo is focused on simply trying to influence the major parties’ agendas.
“You know, it would be great if we could take office come, you know, November after the election, but we understand we're up against a lot,” she said in an interview with YouTuber and economics commentator Luke Gromen. “So we're just taking every opportunity every day to help shape policy through the voice of candidacy.”
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Political strategists for both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are concerned RFK Jr. could spoil the election against their preferred candidate, though it isn’t yet clear how his candidacy might influence the vote in key states.
The Kennedy campaign told The Daily Beast in a statement: “Ms. Shanahan and Mr. Kennedy are running to win. What Ms. Shanahan was conveying was that running for office has more than one function. It can change the national conversation and bring attention to issues and ideas that otherwise would go unnoticed. The two candidates are committed to contributing positively to this nation’s political conversation in the course of running for office.”
Shanahan separately made news on Thursday when it was revealed that she had poured another $8 million into Kennedy’s campaign coffers, adding to the $2 million she previously gave in March, and other funds she has routed to his Super PAC.
People are going to say “Bobby only picked me for my money,” she quipped at a fundraiser in Tennessee. Kennedy has denied that he would “choose a vice presidential candidate based on how much money that they have.” Still, his selection of Shanahan has allowed her to give unlimited funds directly to the campaign—power she would not have were she not on the ticket.
Shanahan and Kennedy are now vying for the right to participate in an upcoming presidential debate hosted by CNN, though as of now he is not scheduled to be included. He has accused the major parties of “colluding to lock America into a head-to-head match-up that 70% say they do not want.”
Trump blasted Biden on his social media platform Truth Social on Thursday, claiming that “Crooked Joe Biden” wants to exclude RFK Jr. in part because “he’s sharper and far more intelligent than Joe.”
