The Democratic National Committee fired back Tuesday at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after the independent presidential candidate named his running mate pick, with one surrogate telling reporters on a call that Kennedy “is Donald Trump with a Kennedy name slapped on him.”
“There is absolutely no path for Kennedy to become president — and he knows that, that is why he picked a VP ... who can buy his way onto the ballot in a number of states,” Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow said, referring to vice presidential candidate Nicole Shanahan.
McMorrow warned Tuesday that misinformation espoused by Kennedy and Shanahan could sow mistrust in vaccine safety — a sentiment echoed by California Rep. Robert Garcia, who also joined the call.
“[Kennedy] is a person that is a tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist, he is anti-vaccine, he is anti-science, he is anti-truth and does nothing but put out lies and misinformation that actually damages and hurts public health across this country,” Garcia said Tuesday. “And his vice-presidential pick essentially just doubles down on these anti-vaccine conspiracies, anti-health agenda."
In her remarks Tuesday in Oakland, California, Shanahan called for further research into “every possible cause of the chronic disease epidemic” while questioning the “cumulative impact” of prescriptions and vaccines on children’s health.
Surrogates on the Democratic call rebuffed the idea that Kennedy's selection of Shanahan, who in the past has donated to Democratic candidates, including President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign, could be a sign that party donors or voters are seeking an alternative to Biden in November.
“I've not seen that on the Democratic side, and I think the enthusiasm, particularly among donors, continues to remain high,” Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis told CNN. “The only purpose of Robert Kennedy running is to be a spoiler. His goal is to take votes from President Biden to help elect Donald Trump, and we can't let it happen.”