International Courant
US presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr. has introduced that his operating mate is Nicole Shanahan, a California tech business lawyer and philanthropist.
Kennedy – the son of the late Legal professional Common Robert Kennedy and a member of one of the outstanding political dynasties within the US – unveiled his selection at a rally in Oakland, California, on Tuesday.
“I needed somebody who has examined himself, who is ready to face up to the criticism and the controversy and all of the slander, slander and perjury that’s leveled in opposition to anybody who embarks on a presidential marketing campaign,” he stated, Shanahan launched.
Kennedy himself was criticized for his third-party marketing campaign, to not point out his controversial positions, together with anti-vaccine disinformation.
He stays a distant challenger within the 2024 presidential race, wherein former President Donald Trump – a Republican – and incumbent President Joe Biden – a Democrat – are anticipated to face off for a second time.
However critics warn Kennedy could possibly be a “spoiler candidate,” drawing votes away from what is anticipated to be a hard-fought Biden-Trump rematch.
A Reuters/Ipsos ballot earlier this month confirmed Biden with a slim lead over Trump, with one proportion level separating them, with Biden receiving 39 % assist to Trump’s 38 %.
An estimated 11 % of respondents stated they might select a special candidate, whereas 12 % have been contemplating whether or not to vote in any respect.
Unbiased candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr speaks at a November marketing campaign occasion in Columbia, South Carolina (Meg Kinnard/AP)
Who’s Nicole Shanahan?
Shanahan, a political newcomer, comes from the San Francisco Bay Space, a Democratic stronghold within the left-wing state of California.
The ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin is a longtime Democratic donor and even contributed to Biden’s 2020 presidential marketing campaign.
Standing onstage beneath a banner that learn “Declare Your Independence,” Kennedy additionally described her as an “avid surfer who went to high school on a softball scholarship.”
He additionally performed up her fame as a lawyer with expertise in synthetic intelligence and Silicon Valley, a hub for innovation within the US.
“Expertise is a lifelong ardour for my future vice chairman,” he instructed the gang in Oakland.
“That is essential as a result of I additionally needed a vice chairman who shares my outrage at Massive Tech’s participation as a companion within the censorship, surveillance and data conflict our authorities is at present waging in opposition to the American individuals.”
Shanahan herself took the stage and evoked the struggles of her upbringing within the Bay Space, calling them “the supply of my politics and beliefs.”
She described her mom as a Chinese language immigrant who labored in a nursing residence and her father as a person who struggled with substance abuse.
“Each time my father misplaced his job, my household may now not afford the prices: meals, fuel, clothes, maintenance,” Shanahan stated. “I do know many People know precisely what that is like: being one setback away from catastrophe. I do not assume we’d have made it with out meals stamps and authorities help.”
She credited these experiences along with her choice to hitch Kennedy on the marketing campaign path: “It has turn into a part of my dedication to do one thing for my nation.”
Shanahan additionally acknowledged that she “turned very rich later in life.”
“The aim of wealth is to assist these in want,” she stated. “And I additionally need to convey that again to politics. That’s the goal of privilege.”
Tremendous Bowl industrial
Earlier than she was appointed vice chairman on Kennedy’s ticket, Shanahan had performed a key position in shaping the impartial candidate’s message.
US media reported in February that Shanahan performed a number one position in making a marketing campaign advert that aired in the course of the Tremendous Bowl, the spotlight of the US soccer season.
Shopping for airtime in the course of the Tremendous Bowl broadcast is notoriously costly. The soccer match is without doubt one of the most watched sporting occasions within the US, and the 2024 broadcast broke data, attracting 123.4 million viewers.
Shanahan instructed the New York Occasions that she contributed an estimated $4 million for a 30-second advert purchase throughout this yr’s contest to advertise Kennedy’s marketing campaign. She additionally stated she supplied inventive recommendation and helped form the advert’s message.
The TV spot sparked controversy as a result of it mimicked the feel and appear of a 1960 marketing campaign advert for Kennedy’s late uncle, President John F Kennedy.
Members of the Kennedy household dismissed the advert as an try to capitalize on the slain president’s legacy, prompting the impartial candidate to deal with the criticism on social media.
“I’m deeply sorry if the Tremendous Bowl advert has triggered ache to anybody in my household. The advert was created and aired by the American Values Tremendous PAC with none involvement or approval from my marketing campaign,” he stated wroteand added: “I really like you all.”
Jacob Strumwasser, Nicole Shanahan, Robert F Kennedy Jr and Cheryl Hines wave to the gang in Oakland, California (Eric Risberg/AP)
Elect a vice chairman
Kennedy’s announcement in Oakland on Tuesday ends ongoing hypothesis about who he would choose as his operating mate.
American soccer star Aaron Rodgers and former Minnesota governor and wrestler Jesse Ventura had been floated as potential vice presidential decisions.
Shanahan’s choice is probably going to offer Kennedy’s marketing campaign a fundraising increase within the coming weeks because the presidential candidates head to the final election in November.
Additionally on Tuesday, President Biden appeared at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, for a uncommon joint look along with his vice chairman, Oakland native Kamala Harris.
However Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, has but to pick out his operating mate, regardless of intense hypothesis.
Potentialities embrace his former rivals for the Republican presidential nomination: Tim Scott, a former contender within the 2024 race, and Marco Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida who sparred with Trump in 2016.
Different names sparking hypothesis embrace U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
One politician undoubtedly not on the checklist is Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence. They publicly feuded over the occasions of January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an try to overturn the outcomes of the 2020 election.
Behind the scenes, Trump pressured Pence to overturn the Electoral School rely, which was underway on the Capitol. Rioters have been heard chanting the phrase “Hold Mike Pence” when he refused.
Earlier this month, Pence described Trump as a menace to the Republican Celebration in an interview on Fox Information.
“Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that’s opposite to the conservative agenda we’ve ruled by for the previous 4 years,” he stated. “Due to this fact, I can not in good conscience assist Donald Trump on this marketing campaign.”
Longshot candidate Robert F Kennedy proclaims selection for vice chairman | Political information
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