Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis clarified remarks he made last week suggesting that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could serve in a federal agency.
DeSantis shared the new comments during an interview with Megyn Kelly on "The Megyn Kelly Show."
DeSantis Clarifies His Remarks About RFK Jr.: He Would Be ‘Outside’ Of Federal Agencies https://t.co/qG4lgZxwox pic.twitter.com/mbXJgc6eAI
— Daily Wire News (@DailyWireNews) July 31, 2023
“So, for the CDC and FDA, we will have a Doctor/PhD-type, but they are going to be people like a Jay Bhattacharya from Stanford who was right on COVID, not going to be some of these people that are just part of this revolving door,” DeSantis said.
“I think the word I used is ‘let’s sic him on some of these agencies’ to hold them accountable,” DeSantis added. “And that would be part of being kind of outside the agency and getting answers and bringing accountability to bear.”
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis shoots down the idea of having Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. be his vice-presidential pick.
There also seems to be the notion that he suggested RFK Jr. could lead the CDC or FDA but that's not what the transcript suggests:
CLAY… pic.twitter.com/Huu8m96XsB
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) July 26, 2023
DeSantis also shut down rumors that he was planning to form some kind of alliance with Kennedy.
"Here’s the issue: I’m aligned with him on Fauci and the corruption in the health bureaucracies 100%," he told Clay Travis.
"And I think he's probably said some other things that I agree with too, but at the end of the day, he's more liberal, very liberal on some. I mean, he used to say, I don’t know if he still believes this, that if you deny climate change you should go to jail, things like that," he added.
Florida Gov. DeSantis says if he's elected president, he’d be open to Democratic presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for a position in his administration with either the FDA or the CDC. https://t.co/teQhqAcyr0
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 27, 2023
"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that if he’s elected president, he’d be open to considering Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for a position in his administration with either the Food and Drug Administration or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," NBC News reported.
The media quickly took the comment as meaning DeSantis wanted Kennedy to lead one of the agencies, something he did not state.
The speculation comes as DeSantis continues to fight to gain momentum against former President Donald Trump who remains the frontrunner in national polls.
The DeSantis campaign hopes to push the issue behind them but it will likely return as the upcoming GOP debate is only weeks away.
