Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday alleged in a social media post that allies of former President Trump reached out to him about joining the Republican presidential ticket as Trump’s running mate, something the former president’s campaign has denied.
Kennedy Jr.’s assertion comes as Trump has in recent weeks more directly attacked Kennedy as a liberal as he pursues his independent presidential bid.
“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 wrote on X. “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.”
A top Trump aide on Monday disputed that Kennedy was approached for the role.
“Re-upping this from January …was true then and it’s true now,” Chris LaCivita wrote on X, calling Kennedy Jr. “a leftie loonie that would never be approached to be on the ticket..sorry!”
The New York Post reported in January that the former president’s team made attempts at recruiting Kennedy as a running mate. The New York Times reported last week that Trump himself had floated the idea of Kennedy joining the ticket, though it was not believed to be a serious suggestion.
Trump has in recent weeks blasted Kennedy on social media as a liberal candidate and has suggested the lawyer and environmentalist could be politically useful to his campaign against Biden.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in late March. “I guess this would mean he is going to be taking votes from Crooked Joe Biden, which would be a great service to America.”
Political strategists have warned that in a close race between Biden and Trump, an independent or third-party candidate like Kennedy could pull enough votes in crucial states to tip the election in one candidate’s favor.
A New York Times/Siena College poll published Saturday found Trump polling at 46 percent to Biden’s 45 percent, with the president closing the gap from February, when Trump had a 5 percentage point lead.
