Would a merger between Mar-a-Lago and Camelot prove irresistible to American voters?
That’s a question former President Donald J. Trump has asked himself as he considers possible options for his running mate, repeatedly asking aides and aides in recent weeks about the idea of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his number 2, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
Those close to Mr. Trump do not consider Mr. Kennedy a real candidate for the position. Mr. Kennedy, a scion of Democratic royalty, is also already running as an independent candidate against Mr. Trump and President Biden and told The New York Times that he would not consider joining the former president.
“I’m flattered by the thought, but it’s not a course I would consider,” Kennedy said in a text message.
Instead, Mr. Trump’s questions about Mr. Kennedy suggest that the former president is still in the early stages of his vice presidential selection process.
Mr. Trump has asked his aides in recent weeks about several potential candidates to run, and while no one knows who Mr. Trump will vote for, he has left some with the impression that he has not yet settled on his options for the big league has.
The Trump campaign has begun vetting potential candidates, but Mr. Trump must first settle on a choice at the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled to begin July 15 in Milwaukee.
Some people close to Mr. Trump have suggested that picking a candidate sooner or later could help with fundraising and campaigning on days when he is in court defending himself against the dozens of criminal charges he faces. In 2016, Mr. Trump announced shortly before the start of his nominating convention in Cleveland that Mike Pence, then the governor of Indiana, would be his running mate.
Mr. Trump’s interest in Mr. Kennedy focused almost entirely on the brand’s potential power. He sought the opinions of those around him on whether combining the two famous last names on a single presidential ticket could lead to some kind of political magic, people familiar with the conversations say.
Mr. Trump has long been fascinated by the Kennedy political dynasty. As president, he often told visitors that he sat at the same Oval Office desk as John F. Kennedy, and he regularly invoked the former president at events at the White House, including the announcement of new tax policies and the ceremonial pardon of a Thanksgiving turkey.
“I like Trump-Kennedy,” the former president recently told one person. “I like the way that sounds.”
Mr. Trump’s interest in Mr. Kennedy as a vice presidential candidate appeared to undermine the public attacks he and his allies have leveled against the independent candidate.
Last week, Mr. Trump criticized Mr. Kennedy’s views on climate change and the environment, calling him a “more radical leftist” than Mr. Biden. In doing so, he suggested that Mr. Kennedy would siphon more votes from Mr. Biden. “I love that he runs!” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Kennedy has been running for president as an independent since last year. Last week he announced Nicole Shanahan, a Silicon Valley lawyer, as his own vice president.
In a Wall Street Journal poll this week in seven battleground states, Mr. Trump received the support of 39 percent of voters, compared with 36 percent for Mr. Biden and 11 percent for Mr. Kennedy.
But Democrats have signaled they are more concerned about Kennedy potentially playing a spoiler role and are mobilizing legal and political campaigns to bar him from state elections and discourage left-leaning voters from supporting him.
While Mr. Kennedy initially sought to challenge Mr. Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, he also took positions more likely to be supported by conservatives, including opposing military aid to Ukraine in the war against Russia.
Jonathan Swan reported from Washington and Rebecca Davis O’Brien from New York.
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2024-04-05 20:33:19
www.nytimes.com