Nicole Shanahan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s running mate, said in a new interview that the Kennedy-Shanahan campaign faces a choice between either staying in the presidential race — which would "risk" helping Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris win — or dropping out to "join forces" with former President Donald Trump.
It's a blunt admission after months of criticism from Democrats that the Kennedy campaign appeared more concerned with helping Trump than it was in running a truly independent bid for president. And it comes as the campaign continues to hemorrhage money, despite multi-million-dollar injections of cash from Shanahan herself.
During a new interview with the podcast "Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu," Shanahan blasted the Democratic Party for trying to "sabotage" their campaign, adding that "one of the biggest mistakes of my life" was her past support for the Democrats. Admitting she's "acknowledging how bad things are," Shanahan said that "technically, we could win," as she mused about the campaign's path forward after a period of setbacks.
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"We are taking a very serious look at making sure the people that have corrupted our fair and free democracy do not end up in office in November," Shanahan said.
"The question is, you know, is the risk of a Harris-Walz presidency worth us staying in?" she continued. "And that's the question we have to ask ourselves right now. One: Do we trust Trump and his personal sincerity to really do the right thing for our country, end chronic disease, balance the budget, end these forever wars. Is he somebody that's going to continue to invite people like Bobby and I into the conversation, or is he going to fall victim again to the things he fell victim to in his first administration?"
While noting that the campaign could lay the foundation for a more durable, new political party if it secured enough of the vote in November, Shanahan put a finer point on the internal debate the campaign is facing.
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"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 votes from Trump, or we draw somehow more votes from Trump," she said.
"Or we walk away right now and join forces with with Donald Trump. And you know, we walk away from that, and we explain to our base why we're making this decision."
Hours after the interview was published, Kennedy posted on X that he is "willing to talk with leaders of any political party to further the goals I have served for 40 years." In a subsequent post, he said that while the "Democratic Party positions itself as the party of liberty" that "this is like the arsonist telling us he's a firefighter."
The comments come as Kennedy's campaign has faded from public view over the last month-plus, holding few events and declining significantly in the polls. It's also faced ballot access hurdles in states like New York, where a judge sided with a Democratic-aligned group's request to boot him from the ballot.
The Democratic National Committee, which has spun up an effort against Kennedy and other third-party candidates, immediately put out a statement condemning Shanahan's comments.
"In one interview alone, she floated RFK Jr. for HHS Secretary in a Trump administration, discussed her interest in running for governor of California in 2026, admitted that the Kennedy-Shanahan campaign has no path to victory, and raised the possibility of joining forces with Trump to defeat Vice President Harris," DNC communications adviser Lis Smith said.
"From the beginning of this race, we’ve said that RFK Jr. is nothing more than a spoiler for Donald Trump, and we’re glad that his running mate is finally admitting it," Smith continued.
This is not the first time someone associated with the campaign has floated the concept of helping Trump. Earlier this year, the campaign fired a staffer caught on camera saying her top priority was to "oppose Biden" and floated the concept of Kennedy helping to deprive Democrats the Electoral College votes needed to win the election. At the time, the campaign disavowed those comments.
At a protest against the Democratic National Convention in Chicago organized by the pro-Kennedy super PAC American Values 2024, supporters were surprised by Shanahan’s comments and grappled with the potential end of his campaign.
Kyle Kemper, a Kennedy super-fan who has devoted much of the past year to touring his homemade Kennedy bus around the country, said he would be “heartbroken” if Kennedy joined Trump and grew furious as he talked through the implications of Shanahan’s comments.
“Bobby committed to independence and if you’re having challenges fundraising, do a better job fundraising! Nicole Shanahan has resources. Don’t give up in the fourth quarter,” he said. “If he does that, he backtracks on his own words.”
Kemper said he understood the strategic justification for working out an arrangement with Trump that could give Kennedy some position in the campaign or administration — but that Kennedy should not “sell his soul.”
“Don’t make a deal with the devil!” Kemper said. “[Trump] could promise Bobby something, but you think he’s a man of integrity and man of his word? No. He will stab you in the back. He will kick you out of the room. He will say whatever he needs to."
But Kennedy draws support from a range of ideological viewpoints and some were more sympathetic.
Angela Wulbrecht, a California nurse who turned against vaccine mandates after having an averse reaction to the Covid-19 shot, said she’s a lifelong Democrat who supports all the party’s core beliefs — but that she feels “abandoned” by a party that “gaslit” her on vaccines.
“I never thought in a million years I could vote Trump, but I might for [Kennedy]. He’s the only one who could even get me to consider it,” she said. “But until I hear it from his own mouth, I don’t really know what to think."
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