Former President Donald Trump said he would consider appointing independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to a Cabinet position if he were to drop out and endorse the Republican—a move his vice presidential candidate said the ticket was considering the same day.
“He’s a brilliant guy. He’s a very smart guy. I’ve known him for a very long time,” Trump told CNN, adding that he would be “honored” by the endorsement. “I didn’t know he was thinking about getting out, but if he is thinking about getting out, certainly I’d be open to it,” Trump said.
The former president said he “probably would” consider Kennedy for a Cabinet position—something the independent campaign seems to be angling for in recent weeks.
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Earlier the same day, Kennedy’s vice presidential nominee Nicole Shanahan sat down for an interview with the podcast Impact Theory, where she said the campaign was considering endorsing the Republican.
In the interview, Shanahan denied a report in The Washington Post last week that Kennedy was trying to meet with the Democratic nominee to discus an endorsement or a possible cabinet position. Kennedy, the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, was a registered Democrat until 2023.
“Definitely not in talks with Harris,” Shanahan said during the podcast, calling the reports “fake news.”
Kennedy also met with Trump to discuss a possible cabinet position shortly before the Republican National Convention in July, the Post confirmed. A video clip of the meeting was briefly shared by Kennedy’s son on social media.
In the podcast interview on Monday, Shanahan was vocally more supportive of the Republican ticket, as well as controversial backer Peter Thiel, and said they were considering a “unity party” ticket with the former president.
“If we’re splitting hairs, I would say I trust the future of this country more under the leadership of the Trumps and the Thiels and the JD Vances than I do under the leadership of the Harrises and the Reid Hoffmans,” Shanahan said.
The independent vice presidential candidate said that Kennedy was weighing the option of staying in and forming a new political party—but said they were concerned about drawing votes away from Trump in the general election. “Or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump,” Shanahan told the host.
“Trump has taken genuine, sincere interest in our policies around chronic disease,” Shanahan said. “He takes it seriously. For that reason, I think it behooves us to sit and see if we can actually make some real change.”
