Robert F. Kennedy Jr. restated today that “emissaries” of former President Donald Trump approached him about joining his 2024 ticket, but he declined, while a Trump campaign adviser continued to deny the independent presidential candidate’s claim.
Mr. Kennedy’s post on X, formerly Twitter, referenced President Trump’s comments on Truth Social in late March when he called Mr. Kennedy “the most radical left candidate in the race.”
“President Trump calls me an ultra-left radical. I’m soooo liberal that his emissaries asked me to be his VP. I respectfully declined the offer,” Kennedy Jr. wrote on April 15. “I am against President Trump, and President Biden can’t win. Judging by his new website, it looks like President Trump knows who actually can beat him.”
Also today, Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser for President Trump’s campaign, responded to Mr. Kennedy’s post, “Re-upping this from January … was true then and it’s true now, your [sic] a leftie Loonie that would never be approached to be on the ticket… sorry!”
The exchanges between Mr. Kennedy’s and the former president’s campaigns represent a sharp contrast to last year.
When Mr. Kennedy was challenging President Joe Biden for the 2024 Democrat Party nomination, President Trump called Mr. Kennedy “a very smart person,” noting that “he’s hit a little bit of a nerve” and “his heart is in the right place,” and that “he’s doing really well.”
Mr. Kennedy praised President Trump’s debating skills, telling “Fox & Friends” that he was “probably the most successful debater in this country since Lincoln-Douglas.”
At Mr. Kennedy’s town halls and voter rallies, some voters told The Epoch Times they would like to see a Trump-Kennedy ticket.
President Trump and Mr. Kennedy have similar views on topics like protecting the U.S.-Mexico border and ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
COVID-19 is the topic where Mr. Kennedy and President Trump differ the most, as Mr. Kennedy has criticized the former president for “not asking the questions he should have” during the pandemic.
President Trump “knew that lockdowns were wrong” and then “agreed to lockdowns,” Mr. Kennedy said.
He also “knew that hydroxychloroquine worked; he said it,” Mr. Kennedy explained, adding that he was eventually “rolled over” by Dr. Anthony Fauci and his advisers.
An outspoken critic of President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed program that escalated the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, Mr. Kennedy said on X that “Donald Trump clearly hasn’t learned from his COVID-era mistakes” as the former president has repeatedly praised the program.
“He fails to recognize how ineffective his warp speed vaccine is as the ninth shot is being recommended to seniors. Even more troubling is the documented harm being caused by the shot to so many innocent children and adults who are suffering myocarditis, pericarditis, and brain inflammation,” Mr. Kennedy said last month.
On March 26, Mr. Kennedy said President Biden and President Trump “both worked to close our Main Street businesses for a year (during COVID)—3.3 million businesses—with no due process, no scientific citation, no public hearings, and no environmental impacts.
Those policies “transferred $4 trillion from the middle class” and “created 500 new billionaires in 500 days. Together, they ran up a greater debt than all previous presidents combined since George Washington,” he added.
“If we vote for either of them again, we can expect and we will deserve more of the same.”
The possibility of Mr. Kennedy joining the Trump ticket as a running mate was first reported by the New York Post on Jan. 27.
“Trump operatives expressed an interest in Kennedy early on, but it was all premature,” the paper said, citing “one person familiar with the matter.”
The communication between the two campaigns happened “right out of the box when Bobby announced” in April 2023 that he was seeking the Democratic Party nomination, according to the New York Post.
At the time, Mr. Kennedy said that representatives from President Trump’s team “have reached out to me” and added, “I would not take that job. I’m flattered that President Trump would offer it to me, but it’s not something that I’m interested in.”
Mr. LaCivita wrote on X Jan 27, in response to the story: “This is 100% FAKE NEWS—NO ONE from the Trump Campaign ever approached RFK Jr (or ever will)—one of the most LIBERAL and radical environmentalists in the country. For all the fake news—update your stories.”
Last summer, when The Epoch Times asked him whether he'd serve as President Trump’s running mate, Mr. Kennedy jokingly said his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, would divorce him if that were to happen. He said he believes he has a path to victory as president and expressed disinterest in serving as vice president.
After wealthy Silicon Valley lawyer Nicole Shanahan was announced as Mr. Kennedy’s running mate, President Trump expressed his view on Truth Social.
“RFK Jr. is the most Radical Left Candidate in the race, by far. He’s a big fan of the Green New Scam and other economy-killing disasters. I guess this would mean he is going to be taking votes from Crooked Joe Biden, which would be a great service to America. 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 ... He is Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, not mine. I love that he is running!”
Last week, President Trump posted another video on Truth Social saying that Mr. Kennedy “is about the ‘Green New Scam’ because he believes in that and a lot of people don’t.”
“I guess that would mean 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. If I were a Democrat, I’d vote for RFK Jr. every single time over Biden.”
Speculation is mounting over who President Trump will name as his running mate. In addition to Mr. Kennedy, names such as South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, former Trump cabinet member Dr. Ben Carson, and former Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, now an Independent, have been mentioned.
Ms. Gabbard recently said that Mr. Kennedy had asked her to join his presidential ticket but she declined the offer.
