Vivek Ramaswamy is responding to former President Trump’s comments that he would consider Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for an administration role if the third-party 2024 candidate were to drop out and endorse him for re-election.
Ramaswamy declined to go into specifics when asked by Fox News Digital, but suggested the liberal political family scion could have a hand in crafting U.S. pandemic policies.
Kennedy was an outspoken critic of vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic — a stance that earned him ire from others on the left.
“Look, I think let’s let what’s going to happen play out without stepping on any announcements that he’s going to make,” Ramaswamy said in an interview. “But I think RFK Jr. has been thoughtful on a number of issues, particularly on COVID policies. So the failed COVID policies is something that he has been particularly incisive about and insightful about, and so a lot of that requires rectifying those wrongs.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, center, discussed reports that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., right, may drop out of the 2024 presidential race and endorse former President Trump. (Getty Images)
He pointed specifically to mandates that forced military service members to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or risk being discharged.
“Think about going back and understanding what the adverse events were for those vaccines that have maybe gone underreported or suppressed — some of those errors related to COVID policy and rectifying past wrongs is somewhere where I could imagine a guy like that being pretty helpful,” Ramaswamy said.
The comments come after Kennedy said he would “address the nation” on Friday amid reports that he’s considering dropping out and endorsing Trump.
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(Ramaswamy praised Kennedy’s stance on COVID vaccine mandates.)
Trump called Kennedy “brilliant” and “very smart” in comments to CNN, and said of a potential role in his administration, “I didn’t know he was thinking about getting out, but if he is thinking about getting out, certainly I’d be open to it.”
As for his own political future under a possible Trump administration, Ramaswamy suggested he was looking at statewide elected roles in his home state of Ohio.
He was among the possible replacements floated last month after Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, was named Trump’s running mate. If they win, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine would have to appoint someone to serve the remainder of Vance’s term.
As for himself, Ramaswamy is eyeing Ohio Sen. JD Vance’s seat if Trump and Vance win the election. (Andy Manis/Getty Images)
“What I hear a lot about, certainly from people nationally is, of course, my friend JD Vance is hopefully going to be the next vice president. That would leave an important vacuum to fill in the U.S. Senate,” Ramaswamy said.
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“At the same time, a lot of people on the ground are recruiting me in Ohio to even consider options I hadn’t thought about six months ago, like running for governor. So those are all options on the table.”