RFK’s VP Nicole Shanahan says they are debating whether to stay in the race or drop out and join forces with Trump:

“There’s two options that we’re looking at and one is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and Waltz presidency because we… pic.twitter.com/O3HrLbbCLO

— End Tribalism in Politics (@EndTribalism) August 20, 2024

This acknowledgement is unusual even among long-shot candidates, as is her deference to her Republican opponent. But while the RFK-Shanahan ticket may be running against Trump, Shanahan appears to view Harris as the more serious threat, both to their campaign and to the country. She blamed the DNC for “sabotage” and “lawfare” against their third-party ticket, and claimed the DNC “planted insiders into our campaign to disrupt it and to create actual legal issues for us”.

“We are taking a very serious look at making sure that the people that have corrupted our fair and free democracy do not end up in office in November,” Shanahan added. “I really wanted a fair shot at this election, and I believed in the America that I, a little girl, pledged an allegiance to. And that is not where we are today, and it’s not because of the Republican Party taking us out, it is exclusively because of the Democratic Party taking us out.”

RFK Jr reportedly made an offer to Trump to drop out of the race in exchange for a cabinet position in the latter’s administration, then made a similar offer to Harris following a rejection from the GOP. Shanahan, for her part, said in today’s interview that she has not ruled out running for governor of California, another apparent admission that the campaign is unlikely to succeed. The campaign has raised $51 million in this election cycle, and the American Values 2024 PAC that supports Kennedy has raised $50 million. The independent candidate’s polls peaked at 16% in July before falling down to 12% after Biden exited the race, according to RealClearPolitics polls.