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Donald Trump said Tuesday he would “certainly” be open to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. playing a role in his administration if the independent candidate drops out of the 2024 race and endorses the former president.
“I like him, and I respect him,” Trump told CNN’s Kristen Holmes in an interview after a campaign stop in Michigan.
“He’s a brilliant guy. He’s a very smart guy. I’ve known him for a very long time,” the Republican presidential nominee said. “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.”
Trump’s comments came after Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, said on a podcast posted Tuesday that the Kennedy campaign is considering dropping out of the race and endorsing Trump. She described the decision as intended to reduce “the risk” that Vice President Kamala Harris defeats Trump.
Trump said he would “love that endorsement, because I’ve always liked” Kennedy.
Asked if he would consider appointing Kennedy to a role in his administration if he wins in November, Trump said he “probably would.”
“I like him a lot. I respect him a lot,” Trump said. “I probably would, if something like that would happen. He’s a very different kind of a guy — a very smart guy. And, yeah, I would be honored by that endorsement, certainly.”
The former president also downplayed the potential for backlash from Republicans for appointing Kennedy, who has taken a number of progressive positions.
“I like smart people, and Republicans like me,” Trump said.
In the interview, Trump acknowledged that the state of the 2024 race had changed since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race last month and Harris emerged as the Democratic nominee.
However, Trump insisted that his strategy and message have not changed.
“I’m leading in the polls, but not by as much,” he said. “But regardless of that, my whole thing doesn’t change. We don’t want crime. We want to have a strong military. We’ve got to stop drugs from coming in. We have to stop people from pouring into our country through an open border.”
The former president also responded to his former chief of staff and retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, who sharply criticized Trump’s recent comments that the Presidential Medal of Freedom that honors civilians was “much better” than the Medal of Honor given to service members.
“No president, member of Congress, judge or political appointee — and certainly no recipient of the Presidential Medal — will ever be asked to give life or limb to protect the Constitution. The two awards cannot be compared in any way. Not even close,” Kelly told CNN.
Trump described Kelly’s remarks as criticism from someone with “an ax to grind.”
He also lambasted Kelly for confirming to CNN last October previous reporting that had appeared in The Atlantic magazine about Trump disparaging service members. He said Kelly “was the one person that confirmed” a story the former president disputed.
“I didn’t respect him. Once I lost my respect for him, because I saw that he couldn’t do the job, I fired him,” Trump said. “And when you fire people, they tend to say negative things.”
This story has been updated with additional details.
