The political establishment is scrambling to contain the explosive fallout from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s latest bombshell – the anti-establishment Democrat-turned-Independent says he was directly offered the chance to join former President Donald Trump’s presidential ticket as running mate.
Kennedy Jr. said Trump’s team had approached him about forming a unity ticket, but he declined. However, a senior Trump adviser has pushed back on Kennedy’s claim.
On Monday, Kennedy wrote on his X social media platform (formerly Twitter): “President Trump’s emissaries asked me to be his VP. I respectfully declined the offer.”
Kennedy also said in a January interview that people “from the [Trump] team have reached out to me” about the vice presidential role.
Chris LaCivita, a senior campaign advisor in the Trump campaign, disputed Kennedy’s claim, calling him a “leftie loonie that would never be approached to be on the ticket… sorry!”
Republicans and Democrats are both jockeying to define Kennedy and his Independent campaign in a way that hurt their main opponent.
Trump’s side has regularly labeled Kennedy’s views far too liberal for the GOP base, while President Joe Biden’s campaign has attempted to link him to Trump and the MAGA movement.
Trump recently dismissed Kennedy as far too liberal in Truth Social posts — but encouraged Democratic voters to consider his independent campaign.
Kennedy has “got some nice things about him. I happen to like him,” Trump said in a video posted last week. “Unfortunately he is about the ‘Green New Scam’ because he believes in that and a lot of people don’t.”
“I guess that would mean the RFK Jr.’s going to be taking away votes from Crooked Joe Biden, and he should because he’s actually better than Biden. He’s much better than Biden,” Trump said. “If I were a Democrat, I’d vote for RFK Jr. every single time over Biden.”
Now rivals, Kennedy and Trump have a relationship dating back years when both were high society New York residents. After his 2016 election win, Trump even considered appointing Kennedy to head a commission on vaccine safety following a meeting at Trump Tower, though it never materialized.
As an outsider candidate running outside the traditional two-party structure, Kennedy has disrupted the political establishment.
How voters interpret his motivations will prove critical in the upcoming 2024 election.
Stephen Dietrich is the Publisher of The Horn News