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nicole shanahan
Billionaire Nicole Shanahan Demands Senators Confirm RFK Jr.—Or Else
"I know entitled rich people think they can buy Nevada's Senate seat—they can't," said one Democratic senator. "I work for Nevada, not billionaires like Nicole Shanahan."
Jan 30, 2025
Nicole Shanahan, the billionaire former running mate of erstwhile Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is threatening political retribution against any senator who does not vote to confirm Kennedy as Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's health and human services secretary.
This week, Shanahan vowed to "personally fund" primary challenges against senators who don't support Kennedy's nomination to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
"This is a bipartisan message, and it comes directly from me," Shanahan said in a video posted Monday on the social media platform X. "While Bobby may be willing to play nice, I won't."
Shanahan specifically admonished more than a dozen senators, including Democrats, Republicans, and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
"The two candidates I helped elect, Sen. Raphael Warnock and Sen. Jon Ossoff, please know I will be watching your votes very closely,” she said, singling out the two Georgia Democrats. "I will make it my personal mission that you lose your seats in the Senate if you vote against the future health of America's children."
At least one senator responded to Shanahan's threat. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.)
said on social media Wednesday: "Big Pharma spent millions against me and I didn't back down. Koch spent millions against me, I didn't back down. I know entitled rich people think they can buy Nevada's Senate seat—they can't. I work for Nevada, not billionaires like Nicole Shanahan."
Shanahan—who reportedly gained most of her wealth from her previous marriage to Google co-founder Sergey Brin—poured millions of dollars of her own money into Kennedy's longshot presidential campaign before the conspiracy theorist chose her as his running mate. She was also among the early voices urging Kennedy to drop his independent White House bid and throw his support behind Trump, as he ultimately did.
Before that, Shanahan donated to prominent Democratic politicians including the party's presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, in 2016 and former President Joe Biden in 2020. Kennedy, the son of former Democratic Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (Mass.) and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy—both of whom were assassinated in the 1960s—was also a longtime Democrat prior to his switch last year.
A wide range of public health experts oppose Kennedy's nomination. Last month, a group of 75 Nobel laureates urged senators to reject his appointment, citing his deadly history of amplifying discredited conspiracy theories and his "lack of credentials or relevant experience in medicine, science, public health, or administration."
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'Absolute Fraud' RFK Jr. to Drop White House Bid and Endorse Trump: Report
"Just one disingenuous conspiracy theory-monger joining forces with another," said one prominent journalist.
Aug 21, 2024
Following months of increasingly obvious hints, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will drop his longshot Independent presidential bid and endorse former U.S. President Donald Trump, the 2024 GOP nominee, according to a Wednesday report from NBC News.
The network cited "two sources familiar with the plan," including one who said the Kennedy and Trump campaigns are working out the details of a joint appearance. On Wednesday morning, Kennedy's campaign sent out an email stating that the candidate "will address the nation live on Friday about the present historical moment and his path forward."
Reacting to the news, Mother Jones Washington, D.C. bureau chief David Corn said on social media that "if RFK Jr. endorses Trump, it will demonstrate he doesn't care anything about climate change, clean air and water, women's freedom, democracy, and the rule of law."
"Just one disingenuous conspiracy theory-monger joining forces with another," Corn added.
According to NBC News:
Convincing Kennedy to back Trump has been an ongoing project of the nominee's eldest son, Donald Jr., former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, and wealthy donor Omeed Malik, according to a source familiar with the efforts who requested anonymity to divulge internal campaign deliberations. The three men have worked behind the scenes in meetings and calls with both principals to negotiate RFK's exit and endorsement, the source said.
Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, told NBC News in an interview Wednesday that "there's been a lot of communication back and forth" between Kennedy and his campaign.
The news comes a day after Nicole Shanahan—the billionaire who gave Kennedy millions of dollars before he chose her as his running mate—said during a podcast interview that the campaign was considering a move to "join forces with Trump."
Earlier in the year before she was fired, former Kennedy New York campaign director Rita Palma privately told supporters that her "No. 1 priority" was siphoning votes away from President Joe Biden, then the presumptive Democratic nominee. Palma called Biden the "mutual enemy" of Kennedy and Trump supporters. Some ultrawealthy Trump supporters also helped bankroll Kennedy's campaign.
It is not known what percentage of Kennedy supporters back Trump or the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, or how the anticipated suspension of Kennedy's campaign and his endorsement of Trump will affect the outcome of the tight presidential contest. According to a Pew Research Center poll published last week, Harris had a razor-thin 46%-45% edge over Trump nationwide, with Kennedy a distant—but potentially pivotal—7%.
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RFK Jr Running Mate Floats Joining 'Forces With Trump' to Thwart Harris-Walz
"From the beginning of this race, we've said that RFK Jr. is nothing more than a spoiler for Donald Trump, and we're glad that his running mate is finally admitting it," said one Democratic strategist.
Aug 20, 2024
Nicole Shanahan—the billionaire who poured millions of dollars of her own money into Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign before the conspiracy theorist chose her as his running mate—on Tuesday raised the possibility that Kennedy could drop his independent White House bid and throw his support behind former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee.
"There's two options and one is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and [Minnesota Gov. Tim] Walz presidency, because we draw votes from Trump," Shanahan told Tom Bilyeu during the latest episode of his "Impact Theory" podcast. "Or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump and... we explain to our base why we're making this decision."
"I will say that Trump has taken genuine, sincere interest in our policies around chronic disease," Shanahan added. "He takes it seriously. For that reason, I think it behooves us to sit and see if we can actually make some real change."
During his first term, Trump repeatedly proposed massive cuts in federal funding for medical and scientific research and other programs.
Shanahan said she envisions a situation in which Kennedy "does an incredible job" as Trump's Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary.
Responding to Shanahan's remarks, Democratic National Committee (DNC) communications adviser Lis Smith said in a statement that "Nicole Shanahan isn't even pretending to be a serious VP candidate anymore."
"In one interview alone, she floated RFK Jr. for HHS secretary in a Trump administration, discussed her interest in running for governor of California in 2026, admitted that the Kennedy-Shanahan campaign has no path to victory, and raised the possibility of joining forces with Trump to defeat Vice President Harris," Smith continued.
"From the beginning of this race, we've said that RFK Jr. is nothing more than a spoiler for Donald Trump, and we're glad that his running mate is finally admitting it," she added.
The Washington Post reported last week that Kennedy sought a meeting with the Harris-Walz campaign to discuss a possible job in their administration should they defeat Trump and Republican U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio in November. According to sources, the Harris campaign has so far ignored Kennedy.
While Kennedy called that reporting "fake news," he said on social media Tuesday that "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."
Shanahan's interview isn't the first time someone in Kennedy's campaign has given up the game. In April, Rita Palma was fired from her job as Kennedy's New York campaign director after she admitted behind closed doors that her "No. 1 priority" was to take electoral votes away from President Joe Biden, then the presumptive Democratic nominee and the "mutual enemy" of Trump and Kennedy voters.
Earlier this year, More Perfect Union revealed that ultrawealthy Trump donors were also bankrolling Kennedy's campaign.
Kennedy chose Shanahan as his running mate after she contributed heavily to his campaign, which has been derided as a potential "spoiler."
"I did not put in tens of millions of dollars to be a spoiler candidate," she said in the interview Tuesday. "They have, unfortunately, turned us into a spoiler. And we don't want to be a spoiler. We wanted to win. We wanted a fair shot."
Shanahan added that the DNC "made that impossible for us."
"They have banned us, shadowbanned us, kept us off stages, manipulated polls, used lawfare against us, sued us in every possible state," she explained.
In 2004, Ralph Nader, who ran an independent campaign for president, was sued in 18 states by the DNC in a bid to keep him off the ballot after he was falsely blamed for spoiling the 2000 election for Republican President George W. Bush.
Some Kennedy supporters recoiled at the thought of him joining forces with Trump. Kennedy campaigner Kyle Kemper told NBC News he would be "heartbroken" if Kennedy were to "sell his soul" to Trump.
"Don't make a deal with the devil," he pleaded.
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