In a recent interview with Clay Travis on OutKick, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made clear that while Robert F. Kennedy Jr. won’t be considered as his potential vice-presidential candidate due to ideological differences, he could be a viable candidate for a major health position in his prospective presidential administration.
During the interview, DeSantis highlighted his common ground with Kennedy on matters concerning the health sector, especially their shared opinion on Dr. Anthony Fauci, the erstwhile director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
DeSantis stated, “If you’re president, stick him on the FDA if he’d be willing to serve, or stick him on CDC,” indicating his willingness to have Kennedy head the Food and Drug Administration or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The two presidential contenders agree about holding Dr. Fauci accountable for what they perceive as his actions during his tenure.
When Travis asked if DeSantis would hold Fauci legally accountable if he won the presidency, the governor responded, “yes,” further asserting that Dr. Fauci “is guilty of lying before Congress.”
Interestingly, this aligns with Kennedy’s earlier assertion that he would prosecute Dr. Fauci as president “if there were crimes that he committed.”
Although DeSantis agrees with Kennedy on some issues, he was quick to dispel any rumors about considering the latter as a running mate.
He pointed out that Kennedy’s liberal stance would clash with the conservative values of his voter base.
According to DeSantis, “In terms of being veep, there’s 70 percent of the issues that he may be averse to our base on; that just creates an issue.”
DeSantis mentioned Kennedy’s opposition to the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action in colleges as well as his previously held belief that climate change deniers should be penalized, which DeSantis gleaned from a 2014 article Kennedy wrote for EcoWatch.
Recently, however, Kennedy has shifted his stance, tweeting, “Climate change is being used to control us through fear,” and adding in a campaign video, “My approach to energy is using free markets and not top-down control.”
Despite these differences, DeSantis stressed the importance of choosing a vice-presidential candidate who would appeal to his supporters, stating, “I just think at the end of the day, you know, you need somebody that’s going to reflect the values of the broad coalition. Yes, the medical stuff, I’m very good on that. So that does appeal to me. But there’s a whole host of other things that he’d probably be out of step with.”
RFK Jr. recently told Fox News’ Sean Hannity what he would have done if he were in charge during the coronavirus pandemic.
“You quarantine the sick. You protect the vulnerable. And then you let the population continue because when you shut down businesses, that kills people,” he said.
“I would have done everything differently,” he added, before emphasizing the “dozens of therapeutic” drug options Americans could have taken instead of the vaccine.
