It has come to light that New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, WWE Hall of Famer Jesse Ventura, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) are all on the shortlist to be independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, Kennedy’s campaign has confirmed via Mediaite.
The Kennedy campaign which recently faced a staff exodus amid complaints over leadership and “lavish spending” – confirmed to the New York Times on Tuesday that Rodgers and Ventura are both in the running.
It is noted that Kennedy will reportedly announce his running mate within the next couple of weeks. As per the unnamed sources “familiar with the discussions,” both Rodgers and Ventura “have welcomed the overtures.”
Kennedy spoke to the Times and said that he had been in contact with Rodgers “pretty continuously” and had spoken to Ventura, who served as governor of Minnesota between 1999 and 2003, over the past month.
The New York Times reported that Kennedy had spoken to “at least a half-dozen people” about becoming his running mate, including Paul, former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
While the Kennedy campaign told the Hill that Paul, Gabbard, and Yang are all on Kennedy’s “short list,” the New York Times reported that all three had “turned him down,” and that only Rodgers and Ventura had expressed interest in becoming Kennedy’s running mate.
Rodgers has repeatedly expressed support for Kennedy’s campaign and the two men were photographed together in March 2023.
https://twitter.com/AaronRodgers12/status/1648749003499257856
https://twitter.com/AaronRodgers12/status/1636805454218002432
After Kennedy’s video response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address last week, Rodgers commented, “This is presidential.”
