RFK Jr Tried To Meet With Harris In Pursuit Of Cabinet Position

Independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr tried to land a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris last week, in hopes of trading an endorsement for a top job in her administration, the Washington Post and other outlets reported Wednesday evening. 

So far, Team Harris has ignored RFK Jr's pitch. “We’ve reached out repeatedly through the highest level intermediaries. We’ve been told that they have no interest in talking with me,” Kennedy told the New York Times. Separately, Kennedy expressed disappointment to the Post. “I think it is a strategic mistake for them. That’s my perspective,” Kennedy said. “I think they ought to be looking at every opportunity. I think it is going to be a very close race.”

In July, Kennedy described Harris as "monumentally unpopular with her own party,” and condemned her tenure as attorney general in California, saying she worked to keep nonviolent criminals in jail in a “modern version of slavery" and thus “has one of the worst civil rights records of any public official.”  He also condemned her for being "a war hawk on Ukraine...a war hawk on China." 

Kennedy's poll numbers have sagged since the Democrats pressured President Biden into calling off his re-election campaign -- which means his potential endorsement has also lost some zing. The Post says its averaging of polls in July had Kennedy backed by about 9% of voters. With Biden out and Harris in, his support has faded to around 5%. What's more, some polls suggest that Kennedy's presence on ballots is a net benefit to Harris.  

While Harris ignored the invitation, Kennedy did secure a meeting with Donald Trump last month in Milwaukee, and reportedly offered the same deal that he now wants to offer to Harris, with a specific interest in advising Trump on health and medical policy. It appears Kennedy's top goal is a powerful position in the next administration, with little regard for whose administration it is. 

Lis Smith, who advises the Democratic National Committee, scoffed at Kennedy's dual overtures: “No one has any intention of negotiating with a MAGA-funded fringe candidate who has sought out a job with Donald Trump in exchange for an endorsement." While Kennedy confirmed his outreach to Harris, he denies having sought conversations with Democratic Party officials. “The only contact I have with the DNC is them suing me through intermediaries,” he told the Post. 

The Kennedy campaign has been fighting to secure a place on general election ballots across the country -- and contending with a pesky Democrat lawfare campaign to contest his ballot petitions. Earlier this week, a judge ruled that Kennedy has used a "sham address" to claim New York residency -- and thus ruled him ineligible.  “The Democrats are showing contempt for democracy," said Kennedy. "They aren’t confident they can win at the ballot box, so they are trying to stop voters from having a choice. We will appeal, and we will win.”

Kennedy originally sought the Democratic nomination, but abandoned that path after the Democratic National Party rigged the primary process by refusing to host debates, and by re-setting the primary calendar to play to Biden's strengths. Long after he bailed, however, Kennedy's advisors continued privately trying to convince Democrats that they should find a way to nominate Kennedy rather than Biden, the Post reported. 

After all the drama and hard work of his team and volunteers, Kennedy now seems content to bail on his campaign and turn a transparently unprincipled endorsement into a high-profile position.   

RFK Jr. is human trash and will jump to either side because he doesn't care. He just wants power. Realistically, this should come as no surprise since he's a Kennedy. pic.twitter.com/eUdE1EZbi9

— 9mmSMG (@9mm_smg) August 15, 2024