After a flurry of rumors that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had nearly decided on New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers as his vice presidential candidate, Rodgers burst his own bubble.
On Tuesday, RFK, Jr. himself confirmed that Rodgers was on the short list. On Wednesday, Rodgers was reported to have once again spread his long-held conspiracy theory that the Sandy Hook shooting was a “government inside job.” One of the people he told, was a CNN reporter.
By Friday, a video was posted of Kennedy himself saying he had made his VP pick and “It’s not any of the people they’ve been talking about.” Thus ended Rodgers’ illusions about being the VP candidate.
Shortly after came the announcement from multiple sources that “Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to name attorney, entrepreneur, and Democratic donor Nicole Shanahan as his running mate.”
The ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Shanahan was partially responsible for the Kennedy 2024 Super Bowl ad last month. She told the New York Times she donated $4 million to American Values 2024, the super PAC supporting Kennedy’s candidacy, to help cover the $7 million cost and helped coordinate the production of the ad.
A source close to the campaign told Mediaite that Kennedy and Shanahan, 38, “align on numerous issues” and that “she might be infusing millions of dollars into the campaign to help fund the ballot [access] initiative, which makes her attractive financially.”
Shanahan’s support of Kennedy has been wobbly and surprising. Calling herself a “progressive through and through,” she donated to President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign and contributed the maximum $6,600 to Kennedy’s 2024 campaign while he was still seeking the Democratic Party nomination, according to the Times. She subsequently reportedly that she was “very disappointed” when Kennedy decided to run as an independent.
However, she has since come around and is now not only supporting his campaign– despite the fact that many pundits predict that Kennedy’s run as an Independent may harm the Democratic cause– but she will reportedly be his running mate.
