Which conspiracy theorist will RFK Jr. pick as running mate, Aaron Rodgers or Jesse Ventura?
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has developed a reputation as a conspiracy theorist.
He could be conspiring to get another such person on the ticket with him. And a famous one at that.
Kennedy’s campaign told The Times that the 70-year-old is considering New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura as a running mate along with others on a short list. The New York Times was the first to report it.
Citing “two people familiar with the discussions,” the New York Times also reported that Kennedy reached out to Rodgers and Ventura and “both have welcomed the overtures.”
ABC News reported Wednesday that Kennedy told the network he has chosen a vice president but declined to identify the person. An announcement is expected within weeks.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. found an audience to laugh with him rather than at him at a comedy campaign fundraiser in downtown L.A.
Rodgers, 40, hasn’t spoken publicly on the reports, and the Jets did not respond to questions from The Times.
Pat McAfee, who frequently has Rodgers as a guest on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show,” said on Wednesday’s broadcast that he doesn’t think Rodgers would leave football for politics at this time.
“This does not feel like a potential reality,” said McAfee, who had not spoken with Rodgers on the matter. “What feels like a reality is that this is a very standard Aaron Rodgers offseason.
“Everything that was being built up for last year’s Jets team ... the way he was talking about how happy he was to be back in the building and loving football again and everything like that … I think he’s gonna be searching for that feeling again with the New York Jets this season.”
Ventura’s son, Tyrel Ventura, said in an email to the New York Times on Tuesday: “No one has officially asked Gov. Ventura to be a vice-presidential candidate so the governor does not comment on speculation.”
Kennedy and Rodgers both have been vocal with their anti-vaccination stances.
Robert F. Kennedy is getting a lot of press because of his name, but it’s his anti-vaccine claims that need to be scrutinized.
Rodgers said on McAfee’s show in October that he wanted to team with “my man, RFK Jr.” in a debate over vaccinations with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, who endorses Pfizer’s vaccine against COVID-19, and former U.S. chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Later that month, Rodgers told McAfee, “I believe in medical freedom and informed consent, and I’m voting for Robert Kennedy Jr.”
In February, Kennedy posted a photo on X of him hiking with Rodgers. Earlier this month, Rodgers posted a Kennedy campaign video and wrote, “This is presidential.”
Kennedy is the son of Robert F. Kennedy, who was running for president before he was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan at Los Angeles’ Ambassador Hotel in 1968 after winning California’s Democratic primary. In 1963, his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated.
The fight for accountability now raging in the courts, and the court of public opinion, is so vital and at times worrying — because it’s unclear who is winning from week to week, hour to hour.
On his show Wednesday, McAfee said that he “will try to get the answer from Aaron in where his mind-set is.”
While Ventura, 72, repeatedly urged folks to get vaccinated and wear masks during the height of the pandemic, both he and Kennedy seem to have bought into conspiracy theories involving the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S.
“I believe that the government has not been truthful with us about it,” Ventura told The Times while promoting his truTV show “Conspiracy Theory” in 2009. “Yes, absolutely. That there’s massive holes in the story they’ve told. That none of these questions have ever been adequately addressed.”
Kennedy told CNN last year: “I don’t know what happened on 9/11. I mean, I understand what the official explanation is; I understand that there is dissent. I have not looked into it.”
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