Well before Donald Trump officially announced his 2024 reelection campaign, there was speculation about his potential running mate. I’ve generally not been impressed by the alleged shortlists that have been published. One name that was floated last year was Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and plenty of people on the right have actually gotten a little excited by the idea. Now, according to a new report, Kennedy was, in fact, approached early on about the possibility and didn’t “write it off."
Now, let’s forget about the fact that Kennedy has dismissed the idea of joining a Trump ticket, and figure that, if asked, he would jump at the chance. Let's just focus on whether Trump would actually do it. It's clear to me that he wouldn't. Here's why.
Trump values loyalty and needs it
It’s no secret that Donald Trump values loyalty. How many people did he bring into his administration or endorse the campaigns of whom he later trashed for not being sufficiently loyal? Lots—including Mike Pence. Trump will want loyalty from his running mate, and Robert F. Kennedy simply doesn’t bring that to the table. He’s a longtime Democrat donor who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and for Joe Biden in the 2020 election. If Trump wins in November, but Republicans have a slim majority or an equally divided Senate, the normally inconsequential vice president becomes quite pivotal, and there’s no reason to have any confidence he’d vote with the Trump agenda. And then there’s the fact that Kennedy justified his decision to run as an independent by stating, “I take more votes from President Trump than I do from President Biden.” Some polls, though not all, have suggested that this is true. Why would Trump offer the vice presidency to someone who essentially wanted to help him lose? Does that sound like someone who would be loyal?
They disagree on vaccines
One prominent point of contention between Trump and Kennedy revolves around the COVID-19 vaccines. Trump proudly claims credit for Operation Warp Speed and the unprecedented record time the vaccines were developed under the program. He clearly sees those efforts as being a major factor in the end of the COVID pandemic. In stark contrast, Kennedy staunchly opposes not only the COVID vaccines but vaccines in general, citing a belief in their connection to autism. He goes so far as to label the COVID vaccines as the deadliest ever manufactured. Running mates don’t have to agree on anything, but that’s a rather big issue for the two men to disagree on while sharing a ticket.
Kennedy Is a Radical Leftist
Of course, Kennedy’s conflicts with Trump go beyond the COVID vaccines. In fact, Kennedy’s inclusion on the ticket would be a disaster because he is so ideologically out of sync with Republican voters. Kennedy considers himself a “huge admirer” of socialist Bernie Sanders and has praised notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan.
And how about environmental issues? Well, he's another radical environmentalist Democrat who thinks oil companies are guilty of crimes against humanity and deserve the corporate “death penalty.” Kennedy is so radical that he literally praised AOC’s Green New Deal and China’s cap-and-trade policies and supported the Paris Climate Agreement. Is that someone you want in the vice presidency, a heartbeat away from the Oval Office? I certainly don’t.
Kennedy also supports abortion on demand, huge tax hikes, and student loan debt forgiveness.
He doesn’t need Kennedy to win
If none of that was enough to convince you that Trump would never pick Kennedy as his running mate, consider this: Trump doesn't need Kennedy to win. Polls have been quite clear that Trump can beat Biden, with or without Kennedy on the ballot as an independent. If Kennedy's inclusion on the ballot consistently showed that he was a spoiler for Trump, it would be conceivable that Trump might offer the vice presidency to him to expand his coalition, but he'd have much better luck doing that without alienating his base by choosing a moderate Republican.
