RFK Jr. gig dangled in Trump administration during call with Donald: report
Independent presidential aspirant Robert F. Kennedy Jr. talked about a gig in the Trump administration during a discussion with the former president earlier this month, according to a report.
Kennedy, 70, and former President Donald Trump, 78, held private discussions ahead of the Republican National Convention, including a phone call that leaked out to the public last week in which the GOP nominee tried to court the independent candidate’s endorsement.
During those talks, the two men discussed the possibility that Trump could give Kennedy a cabinet or lower-level position in his administration, the Washington Post reported.
The roles in question would have pertained to health-related issues, according to the outlet.
But there was no agreement reached and Trump’s inner circle was reportedly wary about promising the Kennedy scion a coveted role in exchange for his stamp of approval.
There was also unease among Trump’s top advisers that Kennedy might not be well-suited for such a role, according to the outlet.
“All I will say to you is I am willing to talk to anybody from either political party who wants to talk about children’s health and how to end the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy told the Washington Post.
“I have a lot of respect for President Trump for reaching out to me. Nobody from the DNC, high or low, has ever reached out to me in 18 months. Instead, they have allocated millions to try to disrupt my campaign,” he added. “We are in it to win it.”
During the leaked phone call between Trump and Kennedy, the two were heard discussing concerns about vaccines and the 45th president seemingly pushing him to drop out.
“I would love you to do something and I think it would be so good for you, and so big for you,” Trump was heard saying on the leaked tape.
Kennedy later said he was “mortified” by the leak and publicly apologized to the former president.
Rumors had swirled in 2017 that Trump would set up a commission on autism helmed by Kennedy that would examine “vaccination safety and scientific integrity” more broadly.
But that never came to pass. Experts have debunked any link between vaccines and autism.
The Post contacted both the Trump and Kennedy campaigns for comment.
Kennedy previously bashed Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the former president has blasted RFK Jr.’s candidacy as a “wasted protest vote.”
Lately, Kennedy appears to have trained more of his harshest fire on the Democrats. He ripped into Vice President Kamala Harris after President Biden dropped out of the race Sunday.
“Kamala Harris is the party of war. She is a war hawk. Kamala Harris is a war hawk on Ukraine. She is a war hawk on China,” he told reporters Sunday.
Kennedy has also taken some shots at Trump — albeit typically with a softened tone as of late.
“The DNC would rather see President Trump in the WH than me. Why? Because I am even more of an anti-establishment candidate than he is. And the DNC is the establishment,” he jabbed on X Monday.
