Trump team made ‘early on’ attempts to recruit RFK Jr. as former president’s running mate: report

Individuals working closely alongside former President Donald Trump reportedly made attempts to recruit a former Democratic presidential candidate to serve as his running mate.

Citing a source in Trump’s orbit who is familiar with the matter, the New York Post reported that people close to the former president made “preliminary overtures” to independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy about the possibility of him serving as Trump’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election.

“Trump operatives expressed an interest in Kennedy early on, but it was all premature,” one person familiar with the matter told the outlet, adding that it was “right out of the box when Bobby announced” in April 2023 that he was making a run for the White House.

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People close to former President Donald Trump reportedly made “preliminary overtures” to independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy about the possibility of him serving as Trump’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election. (Getty Images)

“Anything’s possible. I wouldn’t write it off by any means,” the source added.

Kennedy, 70, initially launched a bid for president last year as a Democrat. However, amid conflicts with the Democratic National Committee tossing its total support behind President Biden in the 2024 race, he announced in October that he would instead be making an independent run for the White House.

One large donor to both the Trump and Kennedy campaigns told the outlet that the effort to recruit Kennedy to serve as Trump’s running mate is still very much alive amid Trump insiders.

“It’s very much behind the scenes at this stage. As we progress you might see it bubble up a little bit more,” the donor said. “Bobby can bring new people to the polls.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Trump’s and Kennedy’s campaigns but did not immediately receive a response.

Earlier this week, both Trump and RFK came down on the same side of the ongoing southern border crisis in Texas.

Kennedy said Texas was “right” to defend its borders amid what he regarded as the failed policies of the Biden administration.

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Earlier this week, Kennedy said Texas was “right” to defend its borders amid what he regarded as the failed policies of the Biden administration. (Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)

“A country without borders is not a country at all,” he wrote in a post to X.

Trump said that all Americans ought to support Texas’ “commonsense measures” and vowed to work with Lone Star State Gov. Greg Abbott and other border states to “stop the invasion, seal the border, and rapidly begin the largest domestic deportation operation in history.” 

“Those Biden has let in should not get comfortable because they will be going home,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. 

With GOP primary victories in both Iowa and New Hampshire, Trump is poised to become the Republican Party’s presidential nominee. There has been speculation in recent weeks about whom the former president would select as his running mate.

Earlier this month, Trump remarked that he knew who his running mate is “going to be” during an Iowa Town Hall event put on by Fox News.

Former U.S. President and 2024 Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks during a town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 10, 2024. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

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“I can’t tell you that really, I mean, I know who it’s going to be,” Trump said when he was asked who his running mate will be in 2024.

It’s unclear who that selection would be, and few in his political orbit appear to have a good feel for whom Trump is leaning toward as his running mate.

“We’ll do another show sometime,” Trump said when pushed by host Martha MacCallum to “give us a hint.”

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed reporting.