Nicole Shanahan, vice presidential candidate for the Robert F. Kennedy Jr. campaign, recently appeared on the Impact Theory podcast. During the interview, she discussed campaign insights, efforts to undermine their campaign, and the potential for establishing a new competitive third party beyond the 2024 election.
Speaking with Impact Theory’s Tom Bilyeu, Shanahan touched upon a variety of topics, from her personal insight on policy issues and experiences as Kennedy’s running mate to voicing her frustration with the state of modern politics. Shanahan told Bilyeu that the Kennedy campaign has been frequently targeted by the Democratic Party, claiming it has tried to sabotage the campaign from within by planting insiders to disrupt operations and create legal issues. She additionally brought up the Clear Choice PAC, a super PAC that has recently targeted the campaign’s ballot access efforts, saying it has spent millions of dollars to turn the campaign into a spoiler effort.
“I did not put in tens of millions of dollars to be a spoiler candidate. I put in tens of millions of dollars to win,” Shanahan said. “I will say that Clear Choice—this DNC-aligned PAC that was created specifically to take us out—has spent millions of dollars to take us out. They have unfortunately turned us into a spoiler, and we don’t want to be a spoiler. We wanted to win; we wanted a fair shot. The DNC made that impossible for us.”
Shanahan also dismissed recent claims that the Kennedy campaign was in communication with that of Democratic VP Kamala Harris to potentially exit the race in exchange for a cabinet position, calling it fake news from the mainstream media.
“Definitely not in talks with Harris, definitely never have brought up this idea of an endorsement with Harris, definitely have never brought up a cabinet position with Harris,” Shanahan said. “Those are the MSN just taking something and spinning it in a way that makes their chosen political group look good—fake news.”
However, Shanahan acknowledged that the campaign still wants to have an open dialogue with others running and is taking an active interest in their policy priorities and who they want to put in their cabinets, as well as share the Kennedy campaign’s own perspectives.
Despite acknowledging the success of the campaign’s ballot access operations in the face of these challenges, Shanahan stressed that the ticket suffered from a lack of media coverage and that censorship of the campaign’s message continues to be a major roadblock to its success. Still, she said she remains determined and hopes for a last-minute opportunity to debate her fellow challengers, although she acknowledges the chances as slim.
During the interview, Shanahan also voiced her support for potentially establishing a new third party beyond the 2024 election—most likely a reference to the We The People Party created by the Kennedy campaign. She noted that a majority of Americans want a strong third party presence, and that such an effort could benefit from roughly $13,500,000 in federal matching funds if the ticket is successful in garnering over 5% of the vote nationwide.
However, she expressed concern about the potential consequences of staying in the race and the impact that staying could have toward seeing a Harris presidency. She said that while the campaign is considering staying to establish a new party, it’s also considering the choice of endorsing Republican Party nominee and former President Donald Trump to prevent a Harris victory, calling it “not an easy conversation.”
“There are two options that we’re looking at: one is staying in and forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and [Tim] Walz presidency because we draw votes from Trump, or we somehow draw more votes from Trump,” she said. “Or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump and we explain to our base why we’re making that decision.”
Still, despite praising Trump for taking a “genuine, sincere interest” in several policy positions touted by the Kennedy campaign and her concerns about Harris, she questioned whether Trump would fulfill his campaign promises if re-elected or fall back into the same patterns as his first administration. She clarified later in the conversation that she is not in talks with the Trump campaign.
The full interview with Shanahan is available through the Impact Theory YouTube channel below:
Linda McMahon spent somewhere around $93 million losing two US Senate campaigns. That was an epically expensive failure. Mostly it was her own money. And after spending another $11 million or so on Trump “charities” and Trump supporting PACs, she was rewarded by being made the Small Business Administrator. So, she had that consolation prize.
If Kennedy does withdraw, it would go down in history as the most expensive and incompetent campaign in US history. All that money raised and wasted.
And I feel Shanahan doesn’t want to waste more of her money on a sinking ship.
It’s quite an interesting interview, outside of the “will they, won’t they drop out” which everyone seems to be fixating on. She talks a lot about the unprecedented degree of “lawfare” the Democrats have resorted to this cycle. I would recommend people give it a watch, if they the time (and the interest, of course).
It makes me wonder how independently or coordinatedly Kennedy and Shanahan act (and speak). Because Kennedy must realize that it is far too late for him to endorse Trump and “explain to our base why we’re making that decision”. Kennedy cannot do that without committing political, career and character suicide. But Shanahan might. It is also too late for Kennedy to replace Shanahan as his running mate. She could stab him in the back and sabotage their ticket by endorsing Trump, if she wants to. But does she want that? Why would she?
For Kennedy it is clear that even if he drops out of the race – and why would he? – it is neither in his best interest to endorse Trump (or Harris), nor in theirs. But Shanahan is a wildcard. She could rock the boat till it sank, and it’s not even clear whether that would have any lasting serious drawbacks for her.
You could withdraw, and not endorse anyone.