Newsom: Speculation about RFK Jr. backing Trump ‘disappointing’ but ‘unsurprising’

CHICAGO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called speculation that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and running mate Nicole Shanahan might drop out and back former President Trump “extraordinarily disappointing, but increasingly unsurprising.” 

Shanahan fueled the speculation in an interview aired Tuesday with podcast host Tom Bilyeu, when she floated the possibility that the duo could withdraw their third-party bid and instead back Trump in the fall.  

Newsom, speaking to The Hill on the second night of the Democratic National Convention, suggested Kennedy could be a wild card in the election.

Asked if he thought the possibility of Kennedy endorsing Trump would make the election more challenging, he answered, “I don’t think it does.”

“I think, in fact — you’re reminding me that he’s still in the race,” Newsom told The Hill. “Honestly, he’s not been particularly consequential.” 

But he also acknowledged the potential impact Kennedy could have.

“He hasn’t been particularly successful getting on a lot of ballots,” the governor said. “That said, the ballots that he is on and they are on could be consequential in a very tight race. So I am cautious about that, but it says everything you need to know, that they would even consider supporting someone who doesn’t believe in climate change, someone that tried to light democracy on fire, someone that tried to vandalize this country, someone that’s trying to take away the rights of women and girls.” 

Newsom expressed his disappointment in Kennedy, saying “this is not the RFK Jr. I know.” 

“I don’t know her well, but it’s, I think, extraordinarily disappointing, but increasingly unsurprising,” he added, referring to Shanahan’s comments. “And I think it puts his sort of fringe candidacy in perspective.”

Kennedy and Shanahan have struggled to make inroads in their third-party bid to challenge Trump and Vice President Harris. An aggregate of national surveys compiled by Decision Desk HQ shows Harris with 48 percent support, Trump at 44 percent and Kennedy at 3 percent.