A since-deleted, but captured and republished, video of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. talking on the phone to Donald Trump went viral on social media.
The video was allegedly shared by Kennedy’s son, Robert F. Kennedy III, and was recorded on Sunday.
RFK Jr. apologized for the leaked footage.
“When President Trump called me I was taping with an in-house videographer. I should have ordered the videographer to stop recording immediately. I am mortified that this was posted. I apologize to the president,” he said.
When President Trump called me I was taping with an in-house videographer. I should have ordered the videographer to stop recording immediately. I am mortified that this was posted. I apologize to the president.
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) July 16, 2024
In the video, Trump discusses childhood vaccines and doing something “big” that he says would be good for RFK Jr.
“When you feed a baby, Bobby, a vaccination that is like 38 different vaccines, and it looks like it’s meant for a horse, not a, you know, 10-pound or 20-pound baby,” Trump said.
“And then you see the baby all of a sudden starting to change radically. I’ve seen it too many times. And then you hear that it doesn’t have an impact, right? But you and I talked about that a long time ago,” he continued.
“I would love you to do so,” Trump later tells RFK Jr.
“And I think it’ll be so good for you and so big for you. And we’re going to win,” he added.
Trump also discussed the attempt on his life, which occurred the day prior.
“I just turned my head to show the chart and something wrapped me. It felt like the world’s largest mosquito,” he said.
WATCH:
BREAKING – A video of Trump’s call with RFK Jr. got leaked. Trump talks about
– Vaccines
– Tells RFK Jr. doing something with him would be “big”
– Mentioned his call with Biden
– Discussed his assassination attempt: the bullet was like “the world’s largest mosquito.” pic.twitter.com/YVHWy7Zrgw— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) July 16, 2024
Before Trump’s VP announcement, there was some speculation he offered the role to the independent presidential candidate.
However, RFK Jr. has remained in the race.
From the Associated Press:
A spokesperson for Kennedy, Stefanie Spear, said Monday he is not dropping out. His campaign has focused on the arduous task of getting on the ballot in all 50 states without the support of a political party, which requires considerable time and money.
Allies of both Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden worry about how Kennedy’s campaign will affect their own White House prospects. Third-party candidates rarely get more than a few percentage points of the vote, but Democrats blame Green Party candidates in 2000 and 2016 for tipping the elections toward Republicans.
In response to the leaked video, Patrick Bet-David said he thinks Trump bringing RFK Jr. into his administration to investigate COVID would allow him to get 45 out of 50 states in the election.
WATCH:
👀 Patrick Bet-David Reacts to the Leaked Viral RFK Jr / Trump Conversation
“Trump is a professional. Trump knows anytime he’s on a phone call with somebody, he has to assume he’s being recorded…I hope this doesn’t change Trump’s mind of bringing in RFK to investigate the… pic.twitter.com/GSB0zMAknO
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) July 16, 2024
Unsurprisingly, mainstream media freaked out about the conversation surrounding vaccines.
MSNBC writes:
In apparent reference to vaccines, Trump went on tell Kennedy, who’s known for his anti-vaccine rhetoric, “I agree with you man, something’s wrong with that whole system.”
The best-case scenario is that Trump knew what he was saying was nonsense, but he made the comments anyway in the hopes of currying favor with someone whose endorsement he was seeking.
From a public-health perspective, the worst-case scenario is that Trump actually believes what he said — echoing similar earlier comments — and his prospective second-term administration would govern with such beliefs in mind.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.
