RFK’s running mate suggests they can't win in November

Nicole Shanahan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate who has invested millions of dollars of her fortune into the independent bid, said she recognized that their long-shot ticket was unlikely to win the White House this November.

On a recent podcast interview with independent interview show host Tom Bilyeu that was published Tuesday, Shanahan said Kennedy could end up backing former President Donald Trump.

“There’s two options that we're looking at, and one is staying in, forming that new party. But we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and [Tim] Walz presidency because we draw more votes from Trump, or we draw somehow more votes from Trump,” Shanahan said. “Or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump, and we walk away from that, and explain to our base why we're making this decision.”

Shanahan then suggested that Kennedy, who has very publicly expressed skepticism over the safety of vaccines, could have a role at the Department of Health and Human Services in a second Trump term, and that she has an interest in running for office again after this cycle.

But as for this campaign, Shanahan blamed the Democratic Party and PACs aligned with the party for neutering the Kennedy campaign.

“They have, unfortunately, turned us into a spoiler,” she said. “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.”

A Kennedy campaign spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment, but shared a post from Kennedy on X that he is willing to meet with any political party leaders.

Larry Sharpe, a political consultant for the super PAC backing Kennedy, said in an interview that Shanahan “felt betrayed” by the Democratic Party and “when she gets betrayed, that makes her extra angry.”

“She just didn't know because she was at the donor level [in the Democratic Party], and when she moved into the mud with the rest of us, now you see how bad it actually is,” he said.

Kennedy met with Trump during the week of the Republican National Convention to discuss dropping out and endorsing the GOP nominee, but talks collapsed around the time Kennedy’s team recorded and released part of Kennedy and Trump’s private phone conversation.

“I will say that Trump has taken genuine, sincere interest in our policies around chronic disease. He takes it seriously,” Shanahan said on the podcast.

The Washington Post reported last week that Kennedy has also tried to get in contact with Harris’ campaign to negotiate his involvement in a potential Harris administration. But no meeting was ever set.

“After a hit piece nearly every day for months, after rigged primaries, rigged debates, rigged ballot access, rigged polling, Bobby is still front and center as a potential spoiler, a potential kingmaker, as the candidate who might force a contingent election or a wild card candidate who might just emerge as a centrist, common sense alternative candidate who comes out of nowhere and wins the whole thing,” Tony Lyons, co-founder of the super PAC backing Kennedy, said in a text message.

But the DNC and other groups organizing against third party candidates quickly jumped on Shanahan’s candid view of the race.

“Nicole Shanahan isn’t even pretending to be a serious VP candidate anymore,” Lis Smith, DNC communications adviser, said. “From the beginning of this race, we’ve said that RFK Jr. is nothing more than a spoiler for Donald Trump, and we’re glad that his running mate is finally admitting it.”

Though the campaign is on the ballot in about 20 states — a major feat for an upstart independent candidate — getting to this point has been costly and time-consuming for RFK Jr. Kennedy said in a recent CBS News interview that his campaign stopped hosting events in part because of the costs.

While Shanahan releases regular podcast interviews on her YouTube channel, she has seldom been on the campaign trail since she was tapped in March to be Kennedy’s vice presidential nominee. Kennedy hasn’t held a public campaign event since July.

Shanahan said that she’s now focused on “a vision that goes beyond November” and sets up a third party to be a more serious challenger in 2028.

Sharpe said Shanahan realizes this campaign is bigger than just their ticket, but that if Kennedy stays in he can still have an impact.

“The Kennedy campaign owns a chunk of American voters. I don't know what that chunk is — he's been as low as 5% as high as 19,” he said. “So who knows what that percentage is, but any of that, whatever that number is, that will decide the election.”