Nicole Shanahan was thrust into the political spotlight in California two weeks ago when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nominated her as his vice presidential running mate on his independent ticket. But after the Bay Area lawyer and entrepreneur left the scene on March 19, he once again fell out of the public eye.
Although she has posted several times on social media, Shanahan has not attended any of Kennedy’s public events or media appearances.
Friday morning, Shanahan Posted in X he was visiting the southern border in Yuma, Arizona. “Honestly: Sitting with frontline NGO leaders in Yuma Arizona, I didn’t understand the gravity of the border crisis until today,” he wrote on the social media platform.
Last weekend, Kennedy hosted his first public campaign event since the VP announcement in Oakland. However, his fellow candidate did not attend the Los Angeles event.
During an interview with a senior Kennedy campaign adviser on Monday, the Fox News show “Fox & Friends” promoted a live joint interview with Kennedy and Shanahan scheduled for Tuesday. But Kennedy flew alone for the interview.
When NBC News reached out to the campaign, an aide said Shanahan should never have appeared and that the order was “lost in translation.”
Shanahan is not expected to attend Kennedy’s event next weekend in Iowa, which will focus on ballot access in the Hawkeye State, a campaign official said.
American Values 2024, the super PAC supporting Kennedy’s campaign and the group that donated money for Shanahan’s February Super Bowl ad, this week visited RFK Jr. in Florida. collects donations for It is unclear if Shanahan attended any of these events.
He did release Writing in X he said he was “working behind the scenes to make sure we’re on the ballot in all 50 states” and traveling the country “talking to Americans about the most pressing issues we face.”
Kennedy and Shanahan are currently only on the ballot in Utah, but have collected enough signatures in several other states, including Nevada and North Carolina, according to the campaign.
Shanahan is not a well-known national figure. But the campaign relied on his personal story during the rollout, including his past as a onetime Democrat who is now urging people to leave the party.
At Oakland’s presentation, many of Kennedy’s supporters said they had not met Shanahan.
“I don’t know anything about him, that’s why I’m here. I want to find out what happened,” said Mary Lou Martin, a self-described Kennedy voter.
It is not typical for a newly announced vice-presidential candidate to remain in the background. But Kennedy’s independent effort is uncharacteristic in many ways, including choosing a running mate with little pre-existing public profile.
Mark Short, then-chief adviser to Mike Pence’s 2016 vice presidential campaign, said Kennedy’s campaign should make the most of his personal strengths of fundraising and focus on campaigning in states where the campaign has enough signatures to get on the ballot.
“He hasn’t held any office and he’s not a household name,” Short said, adding that he’s not like most ordinary vice presidents. “He comes from a part of the country that can certainly help with fundraising – even if you’re not into media or events, there are lots of ways to help. The campaign should look at his strengths and maximize them.”