World Courant
OAKLAND, California — Unbiased presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday chosen legal professional Nicole Shanahan as his operating mate. He praised her positions and former work on points equivalent to baby well being outcomes and synthetic intelligence and promised the pair will give “a brand new alternative” to the slew of voters disillusioned by a rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
As he spoke to cheering supporters in the primary room of an Oakland conference middle, Kennedy teased his alternative for a number of minutes, speaking about Shanahan with out mentioning her identify.
“I wished a vp who shared my ardour for healthful, healthful, chemical-free meals; for regenerative agriculture; for good soils,” stated the previous environmental lawyer. “And I discovered simply the suitable particular person.”
Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. waves onto the stage with Nicole Shanahan after asserting her as his operating mate at a marketing campaign occasion on March 26, 2024 in Oakland, California.
Eric Risberg/AP
“I need a associate with sturdy concepts on find out how to counter these critical threats to democracy and our freedoms. I’ve discovered a technologist who’s on the forefront of AI,” he continued, earlier than itemizing a few of Shanahan’s work in synthetic intelligence.
Kennedy stated he wished an “athlete” (Shanahan is a surfer, he famous) and “most significantly” somebody who’s “an adolescent” who may assist drive away the supporters the polls present are most like Kennedy: youthful voters.
He stated selecting a younger operating mate was essential. Shanahan, a lawyer and know-how entrepreneur within the Bay Space, is 38.
“I’m so proud to introduce to you the subsequent Vice President of the US, my fellow lawyer, good scientist, technologist and fierce warrior mom, Nicole Shanahan,” stated Kennedy.
In a video proven to the viewers earlier than she took the stage, Shanahan described rising up in poverty in Oakland earlier than reaching a string {of professional} achievements.
She then described the tough expertise of studying in 2020 that her 10-month-old daughter had autism.
Unbiased presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicizes his alternative for vp on the Henry J. Kaiser Heart for the Arts in Oakland, California, March 25, 2024.
Bronte Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle/Polaris
Shanahan appeared to attribute the prognosis to environmental causes, as she used the anecdote to debate the elements she believes trigger power sickness in youngsters. (Kennedy has been criticized for incorrectly linking vaccines to autism.)
On stage, Shanahan stated she started supporting Kennedy after a pal inspired her to take heed to an interview with him.
“After which I listened to a different, and one other, and I noticed that the particular person I noticed in these interviews was the precise reverse of the media vilification of his character,” she stated.
Joseph Piazza, a 60-year-old customer, instructed ABC Information as he left that he thought Kennedy’s alternative of Shanahan was “wonderful in lots of respects.”
She and Kennedy present a “nice generational distinction whereas sticking to their core values,” he added.
Emery Barter, a 40-year-old musician, stated he was “optimistic” about Shanahan.
“I feel she’s speaking about quite a lot of crucial points,” Barter instructed ABC Information, expressing skepticism that the opposite rumored operating mate decisions “would sound as related.”
They’d have been “consideration seekers,” Barter stated.
Kennedy’s announcement follows a range course of by which he vetted an eclectic group of high-profile folks, together with New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, former skilled wrestler Jesse Ventura and tv host Mike Rowe.
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