RFK Jr's running mate says campaign considering backing Trump

Robert F Kennedy Jr's running mate says the independent presidential candidate is considering joining forces with Donald Trump's campaign or staying in and forming a third party.

On a podcast, Nicole Shanahan said they were considering the two options to avoid the "risk" of a Kamala Harris presidency.

She also accused the Democrats of "sabotage", including planting insiders in their campaign.

Mr Kennedy has faced a number of hurdles in his longshot third-party campaign, from legal challenges over getting his name on state ballots to funding his run.

“There’s two options that we’re looking at and one is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and [Tim] Walz presidency because we draw votes from Trump, or we draw somehow more votes from Trump,” Ms Shanahan, 38, said on the Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu podcast released on Tuesday.

“Or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump and you know, we walk away from that and we explain to our base why we’re making this decision.”

She said it was "not an easy decision".

BBC News has reached out to the Kennedy campaign for clarity on Ms Shanahan's comments.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, Mr Kennedy said: "As always, I am willing to talk with leaders of any political party to further the goals I have served for 40 years in my career and in this campaign."

Mr Kennedy's running mate said she trusts the future of the country more under the leadership of Trump, a Republican, than under the Democratic nominee, Vice-President Kamala Harris.

Ms Shanahan rejected recent reports that the Kennedy campaign had been in talks with the Harris team about a potential endorsement or cabinet position.

"That said, we have offered to talk to everybody about what your policies are, who's going to be in your cabinet, do you want to hear any of our takes on policy and what might work," she said.

She noted that former President Trump has taken a keen interest in some of their campaign's policies around chronic disease.

"For that reason, it behooves us to sit and see if we can actually make some real change and if that is a unity party, I think that it is something that we absolutely owe to the American public to explore," said Ms Shanahan.

She also accused the Democratic party of "sabotage", arguing that "had we had a fair shot we would have won".

Ms Shanahan said the Democrats "have banned us, shadow-banned us, kept us off stage, manipulated polls, sued us in every possible state," and "planted insiders into our campaign to disrupt it".

The BBC has contacted the Democratic party for comment.

Media reports over the last few months have indicated that Mr Kennedy, 70, has offered to endorse the former president in exchange for a role in his next administration.

A leaked phone call in July between the two candidates had Trump saying he would “love" Mr Kennedy "to do something” to support him.