If we are going to be honest, weird things happen in most presidential election cycles. Past statements and indiscretions come back to haunt candidates. In the case of Bill Clinton and John Edwards, there were several "bimbo eruptions," or in Howard Dean's case, the whole thing went completely off the rails with one scream. Keeping weirdness — or just plain stupidity — at bay may be even harder for independent candidates. Ross Perot speaking at an NAACP convention and using the phrase "you people" comes to mind. I have always thought that, love him or hate him, the "Dean Scream," was kind of an unfair tanking of Dean. He was speaking to a crowd of supporters and was revved up. But in 2024, in the case of independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., he may be bringing the tanking on himself.
BREAKING: Robert Kennedy Jr. says he will be announcing his vice presidential pick within the next 30 days.
— Christian Movick (@ChristianM_74) February 6, 2024
This comes as 34% of voters say that they can see themselves voting for RFK Jr. this November.
Who would you like to see him choose for VP? pic.twitter.com/pnUecBCE26
On Tuesday, Kennedy confirmed that he had a short list of Vice Presidential picks in mind: New York Jets Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former wrestler and Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura. These have to be two names that would make Kennedy supporters raise an eyebrow or two. The pick of a running mate is the most important decision a presidential candidate might make. In the case of former President Donald Trump, this time around, loyalty must be at the top of the requirement list, as is someone who has a good chance of running and winning in 2028. The opposite applies to Joe Biden. While his pick of VP may have helped him in 2020, with poll numbers worse than Biden's, Kamala Harris is a drag on him and the party now and has no chance of winning the Democrat nomination in 2028 even if she ran.
So, why would Kennedy all but throw away a substantial amount of credibility, not just as a current presidential candidate, but as a possible future one with these picks? As my colleague Brittany Sheehan points out, the pick of Rodgers could have a lot to do with the fact that, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rodgers was very outspoken about vaccines and vaccine mandates, as well as the general handling of the pandemic. Kennedy has also been a critic of COVID-19 vaccines. But Aaron Rodgers has said that he is not quite ready to retire from the NFL, and would like to play for "two or three or four more years." Rodgers also may not want to take the pay cut to be the Veep. He is under contract through the 2025 season and will make $75 million. He could make another $35 million this fall after coming back from injury. At age 40, if he were to stay reasonably healthy, he could very well enter Brett Favre and Tom Brady territory. Why jeopardize that? There is also the argument that he has no political experience, but that wasn't a problem for Donald Trump, who didn't either.
Aaron Rodgers is the betting favorite to be Robert Kennedy Jr.'s running-mate, according to odds at @BetOnline_ag.
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) March 13, 2024
OK, back to writing about Jones-Jacobs.
While Aaron Rodgers could be seen as a "novelty" pick, the choice of Jesse Ventura is where the weirdness comes in. Before his political career, he spent 11 years as a pro wrestler as Jesse "The Body" Ventura. After his wrestling career, he became the Mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, from 1991-1995 and also did a stint as a radio shock jock. But it was his run for Governor as a Reform Party candidate in 1998 that gave him political prominence. He was the first Reform Party candidate to win statewide office and served as Governor of Minnesota from 1999-2003.
It was here where Ventura's behavior turned decidedly oddball. During an appearance with Piers Morgan in 2011, he floated conspiracy theories such as that former Vice President Dick Cheney knew about September 11, 2001, before it happened, and — one that should be close to Kennedy's heart — a theory that a CIA assassin named William Harvey was the person who shot President John F. Kennedy. In 2012, Ventura sued the estate of "American Sniper" Chris Kyle, who Ventura claimed defamed him in a book. He went on to add Kyle's widow to the suit as well.
Kennedy and the Democrat Party may be at odds in 2024, but at some point, Democrats are going to have to look forward to 2028. Granted, four years in politics is an eternity, and many things and many people can happen in that time. But the Democrats know now that Kamala Harris is not an option in 2028, and just may decide they want to kiss and make up with Kennedy before then. Having just turned 70 this year, agewise, Kennedy would be a viable option for them. And who is to say they might not figure out by then that being uber-left is not working for them and would look to Kennedy to bring them back to the center a bit? But picking what could appear by many to be non-serious VP candidates will come back to haunt Kennedy and could do some real damage should he decide to return to the Democrat Party and run in 2028.
Even when your name is Kennedy, credibility is a valuable commodity.
BREAKING: Robert Kennedy Jr. has selected his running mate and intends on announcing who that person is within the next two weeks.
— Christian Movick (@ChristianM_74) March 13, 2024
The Washington Post also reports that RFK Jr. has considered the following people to be his VP:
Scott Brown (Former Representative, Senator, and… pic.twitter.com/iCG8aEDyS2
