Democrats slammed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after he announced Nicole Shanahan as his presidential running mate on Tuesday, with lawmakers expressing worry that the pair’s campaign will siphon votes from President Joe Biden in his rematch this fall with Republican nominee Donald Trump.
“I am personally offended and just disgusted by [Kennedy’s] campaign,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D., Calif.) said in a call hosted by the Democratic National Committee, according to The Hill. “He should be ashamed of himself. He should stop running for president.”
Pennsylvania lieutenant governor Austin Davis (D.) echoed Garcia’s sentiments on the call, labeling Kennedy “a spoiler” and arguing Kennedy was “drafted into this race by Donald Trump’s top supporters” and “has no realistic path to victory in Pennsylvania.”
The DNC hosted the call with several Democratic officials from swing states after Kennedy on Tuesday ramped up his independent White House bid by announcing his running mate would be Shanahan, an attorney who donated $4 million to Kennedy’s campaign for Super Bowl advertising.
Democrats have targeted Kennedy since he left the Democratic Party and launched his presidential bid as an independent in October, with Democrats arguing he would help reelect Trump by taking crucial votes from Biden. “RFK Jr. is a MAGA-backed candidate who is bankrolled by billionaires to help reelect Donald Trump,” a pro-Biden group wrote on a website targeting the independent candidate called rfkjrfacts.com.
“RFK Jr.’s platform is extremely dangerous: he pushes conspiracy theories that divide our country, has made millions of dollars opposing vaccines, and has a history of anti-Black, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-Semitic remarks,” the website reads.
