Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent, chose philanthropist Nicole Shanahan as his running mate Wednesday.
Politicians and pundits, including former President Donald Trump, characterized Kennedy’s move as outreach to disaffected Democrats.
But Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., had a different theory.
In a Newsmax appearance, Scott said that Kennedy could pick anyone as his running mate and still pull from the Democrats.
“Here’s what I know for sure. We need four more years of Donald Trump, and the way we get there is very important. What we do realize is having that third party candidate on the ballot, no matter the choice for vice president, is gonna bleed votes from the Democrats,” Scott said Wednesday.
“That’s why they are scurrying around running ads in Detroit trying to keep Black voters in Detroit loyal to the Democrat Party. It’s just not working. It’s why President Donald Trump has a 50 state strategy. He wants us campaigning in Detroit and in Chicago and Minneapolis and Cleveland, and of course in the rural parts of our country. What he wants is a unified country where people who work hard, they’re the ones that get lucky. That’s what President Donald Trump wants.”
The Democrats have long blamed third-party candidate Ralph Nader for their loss to George Bush in 2000.
Trump predicted that Kennedy would pull from the Democrats by choosing Shanahan as his running mate.
“His running mate, Nicole Shanahan, is even more ‘Liberal’ than him, if that’s possible. Kennedy is a Radical Left Democrat, and always will be!!! It’s great for MAGA,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“He is Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, not mine. I love that he is running!”
Scott agreed with the characterization of Shanahan as a liberal.
“One thing we know about the vice presidential pick is that she is a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, no matter what else you think about her, no matter how good her story might be,” Scott said Wednesday.
“The bottom line is simply this: She believes America is only better if we change who we are. She believes that fighting for a redistribution of wealth is a key component of what makes America great… My forefathers and our nation’s founding fathers have one thing in common: Hard work should pay off… If she believes in socialism, if she believes is chaos and not law and order, it is the wrong direction for our nation.”
The Horn editorial team