Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed this week that he has approached two well-known men about being his running mate — and both have significant ties to professional sports.
Jesse Ventura, a former professional wrestler and the one-time governor of Minnesota, and Aaron Rodgers, the current quarterback of the New York Jets, were both approached by Kennedy about joining him on his ticket, two sources told The New York Times.
And, according to those sources, both men have welcomed that talk.
The Times’ sources also reported that it wasn’t clear whether either Rodgers or Ventura were offered the job officially, though it’s said that Kennedy is considering multiple people on a shortlist of candidates.
Kennedy said this week that he’s been speaking with Rodgers “pretty continuously” over the last month. As for Ventura, the two have been speaking on and off since they met during a campaign event in Arizona that was held in February.
Rodgers’ representatives didn’t respond to a comment request by the Times. Tyrel Ventura, Jesse Ventura’s son, emailed a message to the Times that read:
“No one has officially asked Governor Ventura to be a vice-presidential candidate so the governor does not comment on speculation.”
Kennedy is pressing forward with what is an outsider’s bid for the White House. At one point in time, he was a registered Democrat, but has since registered as an independent.
If he were to add either Ventura or Rodgers to his ticket, it would certainly add star power and name recognition, which is something he himself actually has, too. Kennedy is the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy Sr., who served as the U.S. attorney general under his brother, John F. Kennedy Jr.. RFK was assassinated in June 1968 during his own run for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Despite his famous family ties, RFK Jr. has become famous for taking many viewpoints and stances that are much different than his predecessors in the Kennedy family. He’s drawn a lot of attention for being a vocal critic of vaccines and has promoted many conspiracy theories.
That is something that Rodgers has embraced over the last few years as well, and he’s spread his views on various national talk radio shows and in the media. That means his views would seem to align well with RFK Jr., though it might be difficult for him to campaign or serve as vice president, seeing as he’s still an active player in the NFL.
November’s presidential election would actually come right in the middle of the next NFL season.
Following the release of this information, RFK Jr.’s campaign announced on Wednesday that he would announce his official running mate during an event that will be held in Oakland, California, on March 26.
As campaign officials said in that announcement:
“This event will be a pivotal moment in our country’s history. You will not want to miss it.”
