Former President Donald J. Trump said he would be open to appointing independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to a post in his administration should the 2024 Republican nominee retake the White House in November. Speaking with the press following a campaign stop in Michigan on Tuesday, Trump said, regarding Kennedy, “I like him, and I respect him.”
“He’s a brilliant guy. He’s a very smart guy. I’ve known him for a very long time,” the former President said while addressing the possibility that Kennedy may end his presidential bid and back Trump with the expectation he’d receive a political appointment. “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 said.
When pressed again about whether he’d consider appointing Kennedy to a position in his administration, Trump responded: “I probably would, if something like that would happen. He’s a very different kind of guy—a very smart guy. And, yeah, I would be honored by that endorsement, certainly.”
KENNEDY’S CAMP.
Speculation regarding the future of the Kennedy presidential campaign hit a fever pitch earlier on Tuesday when a podcast interview with his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, was posted to YouTube. During the podcast, Shanahan explained how their campaign is currently weighing its future—and the fading hope of forming a new third political party—following lackluster fundraising and constant attacks by a Democrat-aligned SuperPAC.
“There’s two options that we’re looking at, and one is staying in, forming that new party. But we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and Waltz presidency because we draw votes from Trump,” Shanahan said. “Or, we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump and explain to our base why we’re making this decision.”
A leaked call between Trump and Kennedy following the latter’s near-assassination showed the America First leader was open to the independent candidate joining a restored Trump administration, possibly in a role investigating vaccine safety.
Kennedy, who says Kamala Harris’s Democratic Party would be “unrecognizable” to his father, Robert ‘Bobby’ Kennedy Sr., and uncle, President John F. Kennedy, said after the call that he had “a lot of respect for President Trump for reaching out to me.”
“Nobody from the DNC, high or low, has ever reached out to me in 18 months,” he added.
Jack Montgomery contributed to this report.