Senior Trump campaign adviser rules out RFK Jr. joining ticket

A top aide to former president Donald Trump ruled out the possibility of tapping environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a running mate and poured cold water on a report that members of the candidate’s inner circle made preliminary overtures to the Democratic scion.

Senior Trump adviser Chris LaCivita refuted that the campaign had ever reached out to Kennedy and closed the door on doing so in the future to be VP.

“This is 100% FAKE NEWS – NO ONE from the Trump Campaign ever approached RFK jr (or ever will) – one of the most LIBERAL and radical environmentalists in the country. For all the fake news- update your stories,” LaCivita posed on X Saturday.

Earlier that day, The Post reported that individuals close to Trump had reached out to Kennedy, who is now running as an independent candidate for president.

“Trump operatives expressed an interest in Kennedy early on, but it was all premature,” one person familiar with the matter, told The Post, stressing it was “right out of the box when Bobby announced.”

Kennedy launched his presidential campaign as a Democrat in April of last year but switched to Independent in October. Since then, he claims to have secured spots on multiple general election state ballots, including recently in New Hampshire.

Some prominent figures in MAGA world such as Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief White House strategist, have publicly mused about the idea of the 45th president teaming up with him.

Back in August of last year while the Kennedy scion was still mounting a bid as a Democrat, Bannon suggested that a Trump-Kennedy ticket would “win a massive landslide.”

Bannon is not directly associated with the Trump campaign.

Trump, 77, the overwhelming favorite for the GOP presidential nod, made waves earlier this month when he revealed that he had someone in mind to be his number two.

“The person that I think I like is a very good person, pretty standard. I think people won’t be that surprised, but I would say there’s probably a 25% chance it would be that person,” Trump teased.

The former president, himself had publicly lauded Kennedy, 70, last year — again while he was still running as a Democrat, calling him a “common-sense guy.”

While forming his administration after winning the 2016 election, Trump mused about tapping him to helm a vaccine safety commission, but that never came to fruition.

Kennedy, the son of the late Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy who was shot during his 1968 presidential campaign, has been deeply skeptical of certain vaccines. Critics have accused him of trafficking in anti-vaccine conspiracies.

Members of the 70-year-old’s own family have lambasted his campaign publicly and endorsed President Joe Biden in 2024.

Still, Kennedy has garnered significant support in a spate of national polling, which could render him the first independent presidential candidate to make the debate stage since 1992.

At the moment, Kennedy has 15.8% support, lagging behind Biden at 36.2%, and Trump at 39% in the RealClearPolitics aggregate of national polling.

The Post contacted the Kennedy campaign for comment.