Vance says Trump is ‘working hard’ for a Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsement

ASHEBORO, N.C. — Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance said in an interview Wednesday that former President Donald Trump is actively seeking independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s endorsement, but he emphasized that there is no deal offering a role in a future administration to secure his backing. 

“I know the president’s been working hard for that, but it’s completely separate from whether RFK gets a cabinet position,” Vance told NBC News about the prospect of an endorsement, shortly before Kennedy’s campaign announced his intention to deliver an address Friday about the next steps for his campaign.

“I haven’t spoken to RFK personally, but I know there’s been a lot of communication back and forth between RFK, between the campaign, between this campaign,” said Vance, a senator from Ohio. 

Speaking with reporters aboard his campaign plane late last week, Vance said he was not aware of any conversations about offering Kennedy a Cabinet position in exchange for a role in a second Trump administration, and he cautioned that an explicit quid pro quo offer would be “unethical.” 

“I think you shouldn’t ever trade important jobs in the government for an endorsement. Whether it’s illegal or not, it’s certainly unethical,” Vance said, adding the Trump campaign should “continue to work for everybody’s endorsement, including Bobby Kennedy’s.” 

Pressed to square that sentiment with Trump’s comments in a CNN interview this week about the prospect of a role in the administration for Kennedy following an endorsement, Vance said Trump is just seeking support right now.

“I think clearly Donald Trump is not going to say I’ll give you a Cabinet position if you give me an endorsement, but he’s been working for RFK’s endorsement,” Vance said, going on to describe Kennedy as “an old guard of the Democratic Party that was patriotic” and saying Kennedy’s support would mean “welcoming a lot of those Democrats who feel abandoned by the party of Kamala Harris” to the Trump ticket. 

Vance also responded to concerns President Joe Biden expressed in an interview this month that he is “not confident at all” that there will be a peaceful transfer of power if Trump were to lose. 

“We have had a peaceful transfer of power every single election in this country, as much as people, of course, make a lot of waves about what happened on Jan. 6,” Vance said.

Hundreds of people have been convicted for crimes, including attacking police officers and seditious conspiracy, related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, as members of Congress inside gathered to certify Biden’s victory over Trump.

Vance added that “it’s kind of weird for Joe Biden to say that, because he’s the one who’s going to determine whether there’s a peaceful transfer of power.” 

“On Jan. 6, there was some protests, and there were even some riots, and things got out of control,” Vance said. “And again, that’s not a good thing, but we still had a peaceful transfer of power, and that’s what’s going to happen whoever wins the election in 2024. We’re going to keep on doing it.”

As Republicans continue to grapple with a new policy landscape — and some notable electoral losses — after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Vance again said a second Trump administration would not enforce the Comstock Act, which could prohibit the sale or distribution of abortion medication through the mail.

But he stopped short of saying the unenforced law should be repealed. 

“I don’t think there’s much difference between not enforcing an act and repealing an act,” Vance said, reiterating Trump’s position that abortion policy should be left up to individual states.