Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s family have been standard bearers for the Democratic Party for decades. He’s running for president as an independent. Now, he’s thinking of joining forces with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
The topic came to light in an interview Nicole Shanahan, Kennedy’s running mate, gave to Impact Theory, a podcast out of Los Angeles, on Tuesday.
The story since gained traction after both Trump and Kennedy seemed amenable to it.
Shanahan viewed the running mates’ situation a couple different ways.
If they stay in the race, they could draw votes away from Trump and JD Vance, per Reuters.
Or, the independents could join Trump, she said
“Or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump,” Shanahan said, adding a decision to do so has not been made.
Trump responded, saying he is “certainly be open” to the possibility of Kennedy having a role in his administration. That is if Kennedy drops out of the race and endorses him, CNN reported.
“I like him, and I respect him,” Trump said in an interview after a campaign stop in Michigan.
“He’s a brilliant guy. He’s a very smart guy. I’ve known him for a very long time,” Trump said. “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 added he would “love that endorsement, because I’ve always liked” Kennedy.
The former president also didn’t seem concerned regarding any possible pushback from Republicans in welcoming Kennedy into the fold.
“I like smart people, and Republicans like me,” Trump said.
On Tuesday, Kennedy also seemed up to endorsing Trump in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“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, Kennedy wrote. “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.”
Kennedy’s political career has suffered as he’s been called out for spreading false information on vaccines. His own family does not endorse him, Reuters reported.
The 70-year-old Kennedy has also been fighting to appear on each state’s ballot in November.
The most recent court battle happened Tuesday when Kennedy showed up an hour and 40 minutes late and could not testify in Pennsylvania, per the Associated Press.
A ruling in that case has not been made.
