A spurned Robert F. Kennedy Jr. slammed Kamala Harris Thursday after reports emerged that his request for a meeting to discuss endorsing her in exchange for a cabinet job was rebuffed.
“VP Harris’ Democratic Party would be unrecognizable to my father and uncle and I cannot reconcile it with my values,” the independent presidential candidate wrote in a lengthy post on X which attacked Harris’ policy positions, personal record, and campaign tactics. He added that he has “no plans to endorse Kamala Harris for President,” but does have “a plan to defeat her.”
Kennedy’s screed comes the day after The Washington Post reported that Kennedy tried to get a meeting with Harris last week to discuss serving in her administration if she wins the election in November. In return for the promise of a position—possibly as a cabinet secretary—he’d back her campaign, according to the report.
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But his overture was ignored, the report said, with Harris and her aides showing no interest in such a proposal.
“I think it is a strategic mistake for them,” Kennedy told the Post, adding that he hoped Harris would reconsider his offer to meet. He separately told The New York Times that his campaign had “reached out repeatedly through the highest level intermediaries,” only to be told “they have no interest in talking with me.”
In his post Thursday, Kennedy appeared to abandon all attempts at bridge-building.
“The Democratic Party of RFK and JFK was the party of civil liberties and free speech,” the notorious vaccine skeptic wrote, referring to his father and uncle. “VP Harris’ is the party of censorship, lockdowns, and medical coercion.”
The comparison between the party of his famous relatives and the party today ran as a conceit throughout the post. While “Kennedy Democrats were anti-war,” RFK Jr. claimed, Harris’ party is “riddled with neocon warmongers.”
“VP Harris’ is the party of lawfare, disenfranchisement, and the coronation of its candidates by corporate donors and party elites,” Kennedy continued. He also took shots at her personally, accusing Harris of having “used our nation’s courts to mercilessly prosecute Black Americans” and claiming she’s “scared to debate and can’t survive an unscripted interview.”
Kennedy’s campaign has dropped in national polling since President Joe Biden withdrew from the race last month. In addition to his efforts to make a deal with Harris, he’s also been in talks with Trump’s campaign about a similar arrangement, according to reports.
Last month at the Republican National Convention, Kennedy met with the Republican nominee to discuss a potential role with responsibility for certain “health and medical issues” in a new Trump administration, according to the Post, though no agreement was reached. The newspaper also reported that Kennedy was spotted this week in West Palm Beach near Trump’s campaign headquarters and Florida home, but Kennedy wouldn’t comment on the matter.
Trump campaign advisers, however, told the Post they’re still in contact with Kennedy and his team, with several of the aides expecting Kennedy to ditch his own campaign and endorse Trump.
The former president certainly appeared to be amenable to the idea in leaked video footage of a phone call last month. “I would love you to do stuff,” Trump said to Kennedy on the call. “And I think it’d be so good for you and so big for you. And we’re going to win.”
“Yeah,” Kennedy said in response.
