Nicole Shanahan, the running mate for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has revealed that their campaign is considering stepping aside and endorsing former President Donald Trump.
"What my gut tells me right now is that we just have to keep being honest. I gotta just keep being honest. I gotta keep focusing on what matters the most outside of party lines," Shanahan said on the Impact Theory podcast. "I need to focus on a vision that goes beyond November."
"And if that means that we stay in, and you know, there's benefits to staying in," she continued. "If we get over 5% of the vote, we actually establish ourselves as a party. 71% of Americans want a strong third party with a real shot at winning. There's even public funds available if we get over 5% of the vote."
Shanahan explained that if she and Kennedy could get 5% of the vote, that would open up $13.5 million in public funds to keep the party going. "And, and that's, you know, that's worth something," she said, because "that means that we can position for a real third party election in 2028 where we don't have to go around and spend tens of millions of dollars on ballot access, which means that we can spend all of that time and money campaigning."
But here's where things got interesting. Really interesting.
“So, you know, there’s two options that we're looking at, and one is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and Walz presidency because we draw more votes from Trump," she said. "Or we walk away right now and join forces with — with Donald Trump and explain to our base why we're making this decision.”
According to Shanahan, that's not an easy decision.
RFK’s VP Nicole Shanahan says they are debating whether to stay in the race or drop out and join forces with Trump:
— End Tribalism in Politics (@EndTribalism) August 20, 2024
“There’s two options that we're looking at and one is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and Waltz presidency because we… pic.twitter.com/O3HrLbbCLO
Reports of a potential Trump-Kennedy alliance have been around for weeks. Last month, multiple sources told ABC News that Trump and Kennedy had several discussions, including an in-person meeting in Milwaukee during the Republican National Convention, where they discussed potential roles for Kennedy in a future Trump administration in exchange for Kennedy dropping out and endorsing Trump.
Two sources familiar with the discussions indicated that Kennedy could potentially be offered the opportunity to oversee the Health and Human Services Department in a second Trump administration.
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If Robert F. Kennedy Jr. were to exit the race and throw his support behind Trump, it could give Trump a significant edge. Kennedy was capturing about 9% in national polling before Joe Biden exited the race. Although most believe Kennedy's support base leaned toward Biden, he did attract some Republican voters. He's seen a significant drop in support since Biden dropped out, but a Trump-Kennedy alliance could help Trump in a close race.
However, I'm not entirely convinced it will happen. RFK's primary draw for conservative voters is his strong stance against the COVID vaccines. This is a sharp contrast to Trump, who views the vaccines' swift development and rollout as a key achievement of his administration.
My guess is that, if this were to happen, it would happen after the Democratic National Convention concludes. Perhaps a fitting scenario would be for Kennedy to drop out and endorse Trump on Sunday, mimicking the timing of Joe Biden dropping out of the race days after the Republican National Convention last month.
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