RFK Jr. Might Not Be Trump’s VP Pick but That Doesn’t Mean He’s Going Away

Depending on the survey you look at, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is polling anywhere between 5 and 21% among likely voters in a hypothetical general election that would include Donald Trump and Joe Biden. While Kennedy appears to be siphoning more voters from Biden than Trump, Democrats and Republicans alike seem perturbed by the support he has amassed, which—if at all borne out in November—could be the strongest third-party performance since Ross Perot’s monumentally disruptive 1992 campaign. But the political scion and noted anti-vaxxer, whose rhetoric and policy planks have crept ever more toward the right, seems to have struck a particular chord among some Trump backers.

A Politico report Tuesday found that, of donations to the Kennedy campaign from October through December, approximately $224,000 of itemized donations greater than $200 came from donors to Trump’s 2020 campaign, and $105,000 came from donors who gave to Biden in the last cycle. Kennedy received more than $7 million in donations in the final quarter of 2023. The fourth quarter began with Kennedy changing his candidacy from Democrat to independent, but even before the switch, in the third quarter he received more support from previous Trump donors than Biden donors, according to Politico. (For what it’s worth, the $7 million haul may not suffice to cover the campaign’s expenses if they continue at pace. Per Politico, Kennedy had just $5.4 million on hand as of December 31 after burning through $7.7 million in the last quarter.)

Kennedy has called for a national abortion ban (which he later walked back), defended Israel’s war on Gaza, sided with Texas in its border standoff with the Biden administration, and outflanked Trump from the right when it comes to anti-vaccine paranoia. His increasingly conservative and anti-government bent seems to have opened the door for him to run with the Libertarian Party. Doing so might offer him a better chance at appearing on the majority of state ballots, a hurdle requiring a massive signature-gathering effort should he attempt to clear it on his own. “That’s something that we’re looking at,” Kennedy told CNN over the weekend when asked about joining the Libertarian ticket. “We have a really good relationship with the Libertarian Party.”

The Libertarian Party is arguably the most well-established third party in presidential elections. In 2020, Libertarian nominee Jo Jorgensen appeared on presidential ballots in all 50 states. Still, Kennedy, who is scheduled to address the Libertarian Party’s California convention next month, told CNN that he will appear “on the ballot in every state” even if he stays independent.

Meanwhile, Trump has shut down any notion of running alongside the nephew of America’s 35th president, whom he once praised during Kennedy’s short-lived challenge to Biden in the Democratic primary. “He is by far the most Radical Left person running for office, maybe ever!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday in response to a Fox News report floating Kennedy as Trump’s potential running mate. “Look at his environmental program, and close up the USA!” Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCivita also denied the rumors earlier this week, saying on X, “NO ONE from the Trump Campaign ever approached RFK jr (or ever will).” The feeling is mutual: Kennedy told Variety Tuesday he doesn’t think his marriage to actor Cheryl Hines would survive if he ran alongside Trump.