A top Trump campaign aide is denying that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was offered a spot as former President Donald Trump’s running mate, despite Mr. Kennedy’s claims that he was approached by the Trump team.
Chris LaCivita, who is a senior adviser to Mr. Trump, said the campaign is not interested in offering the vice presidential slot to Mr. Kennedy, a Democrat who is running as an independent candidate for president.
“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,” Mr. LaCivita posted on X.
Mr. Kennedy is working on getting his name on the ballot in all 50 states as his potential impact on the election grows.
He polled at 18% in a Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll taken at the end of January in a hypothetical three-way race with Mr. Trump, who led with 42%, and President Biden, who garnered 31%. The same poll found 55% of voters would consider an independent moderate candidate if Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump are the Democratic and Republican nominees on the November ballot.
Mr. Kennedy, 70, told NewsNation that Trump campaign aides “have reached out” to him about becoming Mr. Trump’s running mate, but said he would not accept such an offer.
Mr. Kennedy, in an interview with The Washington Times in May, said he would not run on a ticket with Mr. Trump because their positions are too far apart on many issues.
Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Trump, 77, are most closely aligned on securing the nation’s borders. Mr. Kennedy told The Times he would seek “to make the border impervious.”
But the two are far apart on U.S. energy policy and government spending, among other issues.
Mr. Trump is the prohibitive favorite to become the GOP’s presidential nominee and has not provided any meaningful hints about who he may choose as his running mate.
Top names include Arkansas Gov. and former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York.
Mr. Trump told Fox News earlier this month that whoever he chooses “won’t have any impact at all” on the election and he is in no rush to make a decision.
“The person that I think I like is a very good person, pretty standard. I think people won’t be that surprised, but I would say there’s probably a 25% chance it would be that person,” he said.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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