(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke multiple times in the span of a few days this month, multiple people familiar with the conversations told ABC News, including an in-person meeting in Milwaukee during the Republican National Convention where the two presidential candidates discussed ways Kennedy could be involved in a second Trump administration.
At least one idea floated, according to two people with knowledge of the talks, was for Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic who speaks often about the perils of chronic disease, to oversee the Health and Human Services Department under a possible Trump administration.
According to one source, the in-person meeting, which took place the Monday of the convention, never reached a point where Trump and Kennedy had a deal in place for Kennedy to exit the race and endorse the former president in exchange for a role in the administration. Rather, it was an “informal,” “free flowing” conversation, the source said.
The two men initially spoke by phone on the evening Trump survived an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally, one source told ABC News, adding that they agreed on that phone call to meet in Milwaukee the next week.
The Washington Post first reported the existence of the conversations.
Two people familiar with Kennedy’s thinking told ABC News that the agreement to meet with Trump stemmed from Kennedy’s desire for national unity.
According to one of the sources, Kennedy has tried to connect with Democratic leaders regularly for roughly a year to try to discuss ways to “bring the party back to its roots,” but has not succeeded in having those conversations.
Kennedy, who initially ran for the Democratic nomination last year, pivoted to an independent run in October.
“President Trump met with RFK and they had a conversation about the issues just as he does regularly with important figures in business and politics because they all recognize he will be the next President of the United States,” Trump spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez told ABC News in a statement.
A spokeswoman for Kennedy did not respond to a request for comment.
Nicole Shanahan, Kennedy’s running mate, told ABC News in a statement that she was aware of Kennedy’s dialogue with Trump this month, and was supportive.
“I was aware of it and support American Unity and health. We are willing to speak with anyone on unwinding the corporate capture of our agencies,” she said.
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