Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attempted to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss the possibility of him dropping out of the race and endorsing her in exchange for a position in her administration.
Kennedy, whose long-shot bid for president was hit with a snag earlier this week when a judge ruled his name should not appear on the New York ballot, sought out the meeting with Harris in hopes of landing a potential Cabinet secretary position in her future administration, the Washington Post reported.
Harris and her campaign have yet to respond with an offer to meet with the independent candidate, the report said, nor have they shown any interest in considering his proposal.
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Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
The outreach from the unlikely contender came through intermediaries, and comes after Kennedy made similar overtures to former President Trump during a meeting at last month's convention in Milwaukee that also failed to result in any agreement between the two sides.
Kennedy, who polls show as one of the most disruptive independent candidates in decades, may be looking to leverage his position and withdraw from the race, putting all his weight and considerable influence among his supporters behind the candidate that will allow him to continue to have influence beyond the election.
Kennedy, however, has continued to campaign and make regular media appearances with the expectation that he can win the election, the report said, though he has left open the possibility of meeting or getting out of the way of Harris or Trump if they share an openness to his vision for the country.
“From the beginning of this campaign, we've been saying that people should talk to each other,” Kennedy told the Washington Post. “That's the only way to unify the country.”
Kennedy also expressed hope that Harris would reconsider her offer to meet, arguing that it was a “strategic mistake” for the Democrat's campaign.
Vice President Kamala Harris. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
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“That's my perspective,” Kennedy said. “I think they should be looking at every opportunity. I think it's going to be a very close race.”
The independent candidate would later take to social media and say in a post on Thursday that he has no intention of endorsing Harris.
“Vice President Harris' Democratic Party would be unrecognizable to my father and uncle and I cannot reconcile it with my values,” Kennedy said in the post. “I have no plans to support Kamala Harris for president. I have a plan to defeat her.”
Meanwhile, speculation continues that Kennedy and the Trump campaign may have reached an agreement to bring the independent candidate into the team. According to the Washington Post, the independent candidate was seen at a hotel not far from Trump's home in Florida and his campaign headquarters.
Speaking to The Washington Post on condition of anonymity, Trump campaign advisers said they are in touch with Kennedy's top team and that there is an expectation that he will drop out and throw his support behind the former president.
Former President Trump speaks to a crowd during a campaign rally on September 25, 2023 in Summerville, South Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Kennedy also noted that he has had no contact with the Democratic Party since launching his independent campaign, which sparked a legal battle with the Democratic National Committee in an attempt to derail his campaign and other third-party campaigns.
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“The only contact I have with the DNC is that they are suing me through intermediaries,” Kennedy told the Washington Post.
When contacted for comment, the Kennedy campaign referred Fox News Digital to its Thursday post.
Harris' campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
