Jesse Ventura reflects on narrowly missing out as RFK Jr's VP pick

WASHINGTON, DC: Jesse Ventura's endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris comes after he revealed that he was nearly Robert F Kennedy Jr's running mate.

The revelation was made during an interview with CNN's Laura Coates on Friday night, August 9.

Jesse Ventura's vote for Kamala Harris over 'friend' Robert F Kennedy Jr

Jesse Ventura admitted that his decision to support Kamala Harris over his "friend" and independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr was driven by personal motivations.

“I met with Bobby Kennedy last winter. We met for three hours. Apparently, I came in second," he said.

"He chose his woman [Nicole] Shanahan as running mate. Bobby’s still a friend of mine, but I’ll tell you where I stand right now. I’m going to be selfish,” the former governor of Minnesota told Coates.

He emphasized that his desire to see Harris elected stems from his longing to witness a historic moment in American politics, just as he did with the election of the first Black president, Barack Obama.

“A few years ago I got the opportunity to see the United States elect its first Black president. I didn’t think that could ever happen, and they even reelected him," said Ventura.

"Well, now I’m going to be selfish again. I’ve only got a few elections to go. I’m 73 years old now, so the window is closing. I want to be alive to see the first woman president of the United States of America,” added the former wrestler.

Jesse Ventura says 'it's time for a woman president'

Jesse Ventura also made a broader case for female leadership in addressing critical issues like abortion and long-term policy-making.

"It’s time for a woman president. We men have have screwed it up enough," he said.

Previously, Ventura criticized Kennedy Jr's decision to select Nicole Shanahan as his running mate, accusing him of prioritizing financial resources over political appeal.

“He chose money over votes, I guess, because his running mate is filthy rich, and he has got to get ballot access, which is the gorilla in the room,” he noted, according to Mediaite.

Internet doubles down on Jesse Ventura missing out on being Robert F Kennedy Jr's running mate

As Jesse Ventura revealed that he narrowly missed on being Robert F Kennedy Jr's running mate and is endorsing Kamala Harris, netizens doubled down on the former wrestler's decision.

One user on X wrote, "You know RFK Jr. is too off the rails when Jesse Ventura won't even endorse him," while another tweeted, "He wanted to be VP really bad," and someone remarked, "Weird, eh?"

"Jesse Ventura: What the hell happened to this guy? How do you go from endorsing Ron Paul and having a conspiracy TV show to shilling for Kamala-Walz? Even recently I thought he was promoting RFK Jr, which would've made way more sense for him than this. What a total waste of a career. #jesseventura" a netizen commented.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.