TV personality Mike Rowe confirmed he had a “serious” meeting with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about potentially being his running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
While initially caught off guard by the offer, Rowe said their discussion focused on issues like the national debt, foreign policy, and health issues.
“Yeah, he called. Actually, I ran into him about six months ago in Dallas, totally serendipitously, and we exchanged information and he reached out about a month ago,” Rowe said.
“…he asked me if I’d ever consider running for public office, and I spit my coffee back into my cup and said, ‘Seriously?’”
TV host Mike Rowe tells OutFront about being on RFK Jr.’s VP list pic.twitter.com/lqaWs60lJ8
— Erin Burnett OutFront (@OutFrontCNN) March 15, 2024
“At some point, he asked me if I would ever consider running for public office, and I spit my coffee back into my cup and I said, ‘Seriously?’” Rowe said.
Rowe noted Kennedy is passionate about these topics and wants advisors who will be truthful, not just agree with him.
Though they disagree on some matters, Rowe saw the offer as “gratifying” and said Kennedy listens more than he talks.
“For the first time in my life I found myself having, kind of a really serious conversation about what that even means,” he said. “It was not expected, but ultimately, really kind of gratifying.”
“I had no idea what I was walking into,” Rowe added, “but his team was there, and they were also super inquisitive. They listened more than they talked.”
“It was a very friendly, very casual conversation, but he’s serious. And when he talks about the things he’s serious about, he leans in,” Rowe said. “And it’s hard not to listen.
“He’s serious about the debt. He doesn’t want to see $34 trillion get to 50. He believes if it does, the country can’t service it, party’s over,” Rowe said.
“He’s serious about ending forever wars, he’s serious about waging a war, really, on chronic disease, and diabetes, and things like that,” Rowed added. “We don’t agree on everything, that’s for sure. And when that became apparent, he just laughed and said, ‘Look, I don’t want to surround myself with yes men and yes women. I want people who care about the country, I want people who’ll tell me the truth as they see it, and let the chips fall.’”
“He said a lot of stuff that was good to hear, frankly,” Rowe said.
Rowe pointed out the only constitutional qualifications for vice president are being at least 35 years old and a natural-born U.S. citizen, suggesting our leaders shouldn’t be restricted to any political class.
While uncertain about accepting, Rowe characterized the opportunity as a fine one given the few formal qualifications for the role.
“But what really qualifies a man or woman to run for president or vice president?” he asked. “I think you gotta be 35, I think you need to have been born in this country. After that, I don’t know about qualifications. I guess we could talk experience, and judgment, and temperament, and all of those other things, and everybody gets to weigh and measure everybody, and put it all under a microscope and decide.”
