RFK Jr.: ‘I would never choose a VP candidate based on how much money they have’

Independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. has yet to confirm a running mate but said on Tuesday that he would never choose someone “based on how much money they have.” 

“We, our campaign is one of the principal priorities of our campaign is bringing young people into politics and addressing the deprivation that is now and the hopelessness that is affecting this generation,” Kennedy told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo on Tuesday. 

Over the weekend, the Kennedy campaign suggested that lawyer and investor Nicole Shanahan is among the possible contenders to be the independent candidate’s running mate. Last week, Kennedy’s campaign confirmed to The Hill that New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura were on the vice-president shortlist. 

The campaign also told The Hill last week that other possible selections include Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (I-Hawaii), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.

Cuomo asked Kennedy to respond to criticism and suggestions that he was “willing to pay for an election” by choosing Shanahan, who is “known to have a lot of money.” 

Shanahan is a California lawyer and the former wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin. She was brought into Kennedy’s orbit last month when reports revealed she helped pay for Kennedy’s seven-figure Super Bowl advertisement.

“Yeah, I mean, I would never choose a vice presidential candidate based on how much money that they have,” Kennedy said. “I talked to Aaron, as you pointed out, I’ve talked to many, many others. We like some of the reasons. I talked to Nicole. There’s some of the same reasons, they’re young.”

“Nicole, like Aaron, like Aaron Rodgers has been interested in in regenerative agriculture and press freedom in ending the chronic disease epidemic in addressing the, you know, the terrible national debt $34 trillion dollars again, that’s hitting these young people. So, you know, I like both of them.” 

Kennedy added that he thought the campaign had many “great candidates that we talked to” and would announce his pick for vice president in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, March 26.