Donald Trump Responds to RFK Jr. Running Mate Rumor

Donald Trump has put down the rumor that he was at one time considering Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a running mate.
On his podcast This Past Weekend, comedian Theo Von asked Trump: “I feel like there was a rumor that you almost had RFK Jr. as a potential vice president?”
“No,” Trump replied, “I like him, I’ve always liked him.”
“It’s a two-party system and he’s a third party you know, it’s a tough thing.”
Trump said he was not opposed to Kennedy running, but that the Democrats were “vehemently” opposed to him.
He pointed out Kennedy’s challenges including his recent disqualification from the New York ballot, and the fact his polls were too low to appear in any presidential debates.
“Unless you have 15 or 20 percent, whatever it is, they don’t allow you to debate, you can’t get on the stage, you can’t and the debates are very important,” Trump said.
“I mean I had a debate with Joe Biden, that was a very meaningful, that was a very consequential debate to put it mildly.”
Biden was criticized and faced mounting political pressure after his June debate performance with Trump before he ended his reelection campaign on July 21.
Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, has said in an interview that independents might end their campaign to “join forces” with Trump if it would prevent a Kamala Harris-Tim Walz presidency.
When asked on Tuesday about Shanahan’s suggestion that Kennedy could stand aside and endorse him, Trump said he’d “be open” to offering the independent candidate and vaccine skeptic a position in his administration if he won in November.
The Republican candidate said: “I didn’t know about RFK, but I like him and I respect him. You were saying, ‘Would I think about him for something?’ and the answer is yes. He’s a brilliant guy. He’s a very smart guy. I’ve known him for a long time. I didn’t know he was thinking about getting out, but if he is thinking about getting out, certainly I would be open to it.”
Trump’s appearance on Von’s show is one of several long-form interviews he has done on online platforms. He said at the start of the show that his 18-year-old son Barron is a “big fan” of the comedian.
Earlier in August Trump said Barron played a role in convincing him to do an interview with streamer Adin Ross.
He also did a talk with billionaire Republican donor Elon Musk, which he claimed, without providing evidence, was viewed by 1 billion people. According to a link to the recording on Trump’s X profile, 27.7 million people have so far “tuned in” to the two-hour talk.