Rowe, best known as the host of the Discovery Channel show “Dirty Jobs” and whom attorney for the blue-collar trade through it mikerowWORKS foundation, is among several candidates to serve as Kennedy’s running mate. The list includes New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and WWE star and former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura. This was confirmed by NBC News on Tuesday.
A source familiar with the selection told NBC News that the independent candidate offered the vice presidential seat to the candidate who accepted the offer. Kennedy’s campaign announced Wednesday that it will announce its running mate at a March 26 event in Oakland.
Rowe, who was on Wednesday he tweeted A photograph of a CNN segment that included him among the Kennedy nominees neither confirmed nor denied that he had been offered the job. But he described what happened in the vice president’s interview.
Rowe said he spoke with Kennedy For a long time on workforce development and Rowe’s advocacy, Rowe pushed back against Kennedy’s criticism that he was “anti-college” or “anti-education,” which the television and podcast host denied. But Rowe said Kennedy spent too much time discussing the national debt, ending “perpetual wars” and waging “his own war on chronic disease.”
Kennedy expressed interest in building a “team of rivals” around him in advisory roles. Rowe said Kennedy did not want to surround himself with “yes men and yes women.”
“The funny thing about all of this was I probably reminded him a couple of times that I’m not your guy,” Rowe said. “We do not agree with this. We do not agree with that. Look, I deal with people in the energy business that he has sued many times over the years. And he laughed and said, “Yes, I know that. I just don’t think I’ll ever find someone who agrees with me on everything. And I love that you’re a supporter.’
The most controversial part of Kennedy’s past – years of anti-vaccination crusade – came up in the conversation.
Kennedy did not campaign against vaccination, including spreading the discredited idea that early childhood vaccines are linked to autism, is a cornerstone of his campaign, and he has defended his past views by saying he’s not against vaccines, just skeptical. He hired employees from the space of anti-vaccination advocacy, but turned its campaign rhetoric toward broader criticisms of public health leaders and pharmaceutical companies.
Last week, Kennedy criticized former President Donald Trump for promoting Covid vaccines developed during his administration. tweet He said Trump “clearly hasn’t learned from his mistakes in the Covid era”.
“It came out,” Rowe said of the vaccines. “I said, what’s the matter?” And he said: “Well, this is nonsense.” He said: “I am not anti-vax. I never said I was anti-vax. I said that I am against mercury.
As NBC News previously reportedUntil 2001, it was the type of mercury contained in many vaccines different from the type of mercury found in contaminated fish and does not cause neurological problems.
Rowe said Kennedy focused on the idea that major pharmaceutical companies and their products deserve significant scrutiny and should be met with “some level of skepticism” because of how high the stakes are.
“But in the end, I think he said, ‘Look, I’m anti-mercury, and I’m anti-mercury in fish, right? But I’m not against fish. I’m against mercury in vaccines, but I’m not against vax.”
Rowe said she was vaccinated for Covid in addition to receiving other common vaccines.
“I was desperate to get back to work,” Rowe said mentioned that he needs to get a Covid vaccine to return to work. “Honestly, I was worried about it. Because, I mean, who wouldn’t be?”
Kennedy’s campaign did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Aside from his hours-long discussion with Kennedy and his team, Rowe is now focused on him fund scholarship The program, he said, was not subject to any additional scrutiny personally.
It is no coincidence that Kennedy’s search for a business partner is heating up. This was reported by NBC News on Thursday, will be decided as it tries to match the statewide ballot. And most states require a candidate to be a candidate to qualify for the ballot.
Moreover, a key part of Kennedy’s strategy to get him on the ballot in every state suddenly changed. The pro-Kennedy super PAC American Values 2024 announced is suspending signature-gathering efforts on Kennedy’s behalf this week, but said it has collected enough signatures to put him on the ballot in Arizona, Michigan, Georgia and South Carolina — although it should be noted that some petition signatures are often invalidated by the state. When electoral authorities are devolved, therefore, campaigns strive to achieve much more than the bare minimum.
But as the super PAC winds down its signature-gathering efforts, Kennedy’s interest in high-profile vice-presidential candidates puts him in the news.
Kennedy better surveys than other third-party candidates, with polls showing him gaining support from voters who would otherwise consider supporting Trump or President Joe Biden. But until he qualifies on ballots across the country or wins the nomination of an incumbent party with a widespread ballot like the Libertarian Party, it’s hard to say what his real impact will be this fall.
“It seems to me that the country is a restaurant [and] 330 million people picked up the menu and said, “Hey, wait, really? Are these the only two things here? I’m allergic to both of those,” Rowe said. “So whatever [Kennedy] I think people will be surprised by the answer.”