Okay, so who is the poor sap unlucky enough to attract Donald Trump’s empty-can-makes-the-most-noise ire today? Well, it’s Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, and based on the points the former U.S. president has furnished, the duo will be indicted any day now.
Trump rarely makes sense, but there are a few rare examples — but is this instance one of them? Let’s look at the evidence at hand here… starting with what the GOP candidate said about his election rival over at Truth Social.
“RFK Jr. is the most Radical Left Candidate in the race, by far. He’s a big fan of the Green New Scam, and other economy killing disasters. I guess this would mean he is going to be taking votes from Crooked Joe Biden, which would be a great service to America. His running mate, Nicole Shanahan, is even more “Liberal” than him, if that’s possible.
Kennedy is a Radical Left Democrat, and always will be!!! It’s great for MAGA, but the Communists will make it very hard for him to get on the Ballot. Expect him, and her, to be indicted any day now, probably for Environmental Fraud! He is Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, not mine. I love that he is running!”
Even broadly skimming the top layer of the rant above gives not-so-subtle vibes of someone losing their calm, getting insecure, a desperate attempt at daydreaming by hoping Kennedy will only sneak away from Biden’s share of the votes, and doing a really bad job of stifling their simmering anger.
Why is Donald Trump angry with RFK Jr. and Nicole Shanahan?
Kennedy joined the election race as a Democratic candidate in April 2023, but by October, he became an independent candidate. Since then, he has been a source of concern for Team Joe Biden and Team Donald Trump as it is feared that while he is miles away from winning, he might hurt either party by taking away their votes, votes that could prove crucial in their win or loss when November comes.
But lately, Kennedy has become more of a visible headache for the Trump campaign, as Republicans are worried he might nab support of MAGA supporters who, like him, are anti-COVID-19 vaccine, whereas the former POTUS not only praises the vaccine openly and laud its effectiveness, he absolutely delights in repeatedly taking credit for the coronavirus vaccine rollout. Donald Trump Jr. is even sure that Kennedy’s independent campaign is nothing but “a Democrat plant to hurt the Trump thing.”
As stated above, it’s not like Democrats are happy with Kennedy being in the race. Like Trump Jr., Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis is also sure that the candidate was “drafted into this race by Donald Trump’s top supporters” (via The Hill).
But clearly, the person who ultimately lost his cool after Kennedy announced attorney and entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan as his running mate and promptly forgot that he called his opponent a “very smart person” (via Washington Examiner) is Trump.
Do Kennedy and Nicole Shanahan really run the risk of being indicted?
As usual, Trump has made no attempts to explain his concerning claims or his ability to see the future. Yes, Kennedy is infamous for peddling conspiracy theories and spreading misinformation about the vaccines — which even got his family against him — but “environmental fraud?” He has majorly been hailed as an outspoken advocate of environmental health, running many campaigns and organizations as an environmental lawyer, and laying down the foundation of several environmental firms.
At best, Trump’s claim might have originated from the 2000 controversy at Riverkeeper, the non-profit environmental org. Where Kennedy worked. For context, in 2000, the organization’s founder and president, Robert H. Boyle, and eight other members of the board resigned after the majority of the board agreed with Kennedy over the rehiring of one William Wegner, a wildlife lecturer, who was fired from Riverkeeper after his conviction in 1995 for smuggling eggs of the endangered cockatoo bird. Boyle favored Werner’s ouster, but Wegner was seen as a model employee by his peers, including Kennedy, apparently, and worked there for the next 22 years.
Then again, the Riverkeeper shenanigans might have nothing to do with anything in Trump’s thought process. Based on Trump’s demonstrated ill-logic, it seems as if Shanhan would be indicted simply because she is more “Liberal” than Kennedy, and is his choice for Vice-President. I know, Trump logic at its best.
