RFK Jr. thirsts after Kamala meet

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently tried to arrange a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss the possibility of serving in her administration, offering to drop out of the 2024 race in exchange for a position as cabinet secretary.  

Kennedy’s campaign manager, Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, told ABC News the Kennedy campaign had yet to hear back from Harris.

RFK’s attempt to meet with Harris comes after the candidate met with former president Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month, where he offered a similar deal that resulted in no agreement. Kennedy spoke about advising Trump in a second term on health and medical issues.  

“Bobby has always been willing to meet with both parties to discuss the possibility of a unity government,” Fox Kennedy told ABC News. Kennedy wrote on X he has “no plans to endorse Kamala Harris for president.” 

Kennedy also made many efforts to meet with President Joe Biden when he sat atop the Democratic ticket.  

“From the beginning of this campaign, we were saying people should be talking to each other,” Kennedy said Wednesday in an interview. “That is the only way of unifying the country.”  

Kennedy has expressed hope that Harris will reconsider his offer of a meeting. “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.” 

Kennedy’s campaign has seen a decline in national polling since Biden dropped out of the race, peaking at 15 percent last November and dropping to 5 percent in the past few months. His campaign has produced polling claiming that both Harris and Trump would receive a boost in their public support across thirty-one states if either candidate announced publicly that Kennedy would have a cabinet role in their administration, the Washington Post reports. 

Kennedy says he will continue to campaign with the expectation of defeating Trump and Harris, planning rallies in Arizona and Nebraska, releasing an “America Strong” plan for bipartisan governances and making regular interview appearances.  

“As things are, Biden is going to lose. If Bobby were to drop out, Trump would win by an additional two states,” Fox Kennedy wrote in an April email to the Democrats obtained by the Washington Post. “If Biden were to drop out, Trump would lose. Only Bobby can win this.”