(WASHINGTON) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s running mate Nicole Shanahan said this week that the pair are considering ending their independent campaign to endorse former President Donald Trump.
“So you know, there’s two options that we’re looking at, and one is staying in, forming that new party,” Shanahan told the “Impact Theory” podcast. “But we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and Walz presidency because we draw votes from Trump, or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump, and you know, we walk away from that, and we explain to our base why we’re making this decision.”
In a statement to ABC News, Shanahan said such a move would “require a significant commitment by Trump to give Bobby true authority to execute,” though she did not explain what that would entail.
Shanahan’s comments were a shocking moment of candor about the independent campaign’s thinking in the final months of the presidential race.
As ABC News reported, Kennedy met with Trump last month during the Republican National Convention, where the men discussed potential roles Kennedy could play in a Trump White House, including Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy has run on a commitment to make America healthier, talking extensively about chronic disease and issues with the pharmaceutical industry, though he has espoused some debunked claims — for example, that vaccines and autism are linked — and is deeply skeptical of vaccines.
Kennedy has also sought a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris, and the Washington Post reported last week Kennedy sought a cabinet position in exchange for an endorsement.
Kennedy has played coy about his future in the race, saying recently he “would talk about my status in the race” if he felt another candidate was committed to focusing on the issues he cared about.
Until Shanahan’s remarks this week the campaign hadn’t been so transparent about the possibility Kennedy, who despite tanking poll numbers maintains a fervent base of supporters, would abandon his bid.
At one point in the interview with “Impact Theory,” Shanahan spoke about the campaign as though it was near its deathbed, using the past tense to describe its prospects.
“We wanted to win. We wanted a fair shot,” she said, lamenting the flood of money and lawsuits the Democratic Party has dedicated to removing Kennedy from the ballot in multiple states.
An Albany judge ordered this month that Kennedy be kept from the New York ballot over residency issues, though the candidate has appealed the ruling, and separate court cases are in session this week in Pennsylvania and Georgia.
Her comments are unlikely to help an already struggling fundraising operation. Jeff Hays, who has helped raise money for the campaign and a pro-Kennedy super PAC, told ABC News on Tuesday, “That just absolutely killed fundraising.”
Hays was going to host a fundraiser next month for the PAC, American Values, in Utah, but he’s calling it off, he said.
Tony Lyons, American Values’ co-founder, told ABC News Hays was “overreacting,” claiming without explanation that Shanahan’s interview would actually help the group’s fundraising numbers.
“I’m sure there will be many more twists and turns,” he said. “There’s a lot more baseball to be played.”
On Twitter, Kennedy wrote, “As always, I am willing to talk with leaders of any political party to further the goals I have served for 40 years in my career and in this campaign. These are: reversing the chronic disease epidemic, ending the war machine, cleaning corporate influence out of government and toxic pollution out of the environment, protecting freedom of speech, and ending politicization of enforcement agencies.”
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