Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has approached former 2020 presidential candidate and Forward Party co-founder Andrew Yang to gauge his interest in potentially joining Kennedy’s ticket as its vice presidential nominee. However, Yang is reportedly not responsive to the idea.
According to Puck News, Kennedy initially approached Yang, along with other unnamed considerations, at the end of January. However, Yang declined to comment and was reportedly “noncommittal” toward the idea. Suspected reasons by Puck News as to why Yang might not be interested include his continued support for Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips in the Democratic primary, differences in opinion with Kennedy over vaccinations, and his own ongoing work with the Forward Party.
An NBC News interview earlier this week also revealed that Kennedy intends to have a vice presidential candidate selected “within 30 days” to help with ballot access in areas where a running mate is required. Ballot access has recently been a significant focus for Kennedy, with him establishing new state parties and considering seeking the Libertarian Party nomination as a potential avenue to aid his efforts.
Kennedy also told NBC News that he would not drop out of the race, even if it became apparent his candidacy impacted one major party nominee more than another. “I’m not going to bow out of the race,” Kennedy said in the interview. “I think Americans should have a choice, that they shouldn’t be forced to choose the least of two evils. That they should be able to vote in a democracy, for candidates that they like, that inspire them and who they want to run.”
Readers can view the full NBC Interview here.
Yang would have a better shot at getting the Libertarian Presidential nomination than RFK Jr.
Yang’s willingness to go down with the Dean Phillips ship shows that he’s not afraid to take a risky bet on a long shot candidate.
Given that, his unwillingness to have anything to do with RFK Jr should make it clear how doomed that campaign is.