TV host Mike Rowe responded Friday on NewsNation to reports of his being put on Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s shortlist for vice president.
Rowe appeared on “Cuomo” to discuss whether he is considering the position alongside Kennedy, following his recent revelation that he made it onto Kennedy’s vice president shortlist. NewsNation host Chris Cuomo questioned Rowe on if it would be worth getting involved in the political scene to continue the work he believes in.
Rowe stated that, while his initial reaction has been to decline any offers, he’d be open to working “with anybody” who’s “serious” about the changes that need to happen for 2024. Rowe confirmed Kennedy reached out to him “about a month ago,” which led to a more than three-hour conversation between the two.
Rowe noted that, while the two don’t “agree” on everything, Kennedy does appeal to voters by being the one who is “willing to do something to push the rock up the hill.” (RELATED: ‘Damaging Our Country’: RFK Jr. Calls Out Massive Consequences Caused By Border Crisis)
“Look, man, my knee-jerk reaction to that question for the last 16 years has been a very gracious ‘no thank you.’ When I started mikeroweWORKS, it was a PR campaign for good jobs, for whatever reason, nobody seemed to want. I wrote Barack Obama an open letter, got some heat for it, but I said, ‘Look, I’ll work with you,'” Rowe stated.
“At mikeroweWORKS we were saying, ‘Look, that sounds great, but, heads up: if you want to talk about shovel-ready jobs, you need to first make the case that there’s dignity in picking up a shovel. You need to do something around those jobs that are gonna get parents to think differently about what they want for their kids.’ And I’ve since written similar letters to everybody from Mitt Romney, to Hillary Clinton, to Bernie Sanders [a] few years ago, to Donald Trump. I’ll work with anybody who is serious about making a more persuasive case for a more egalitarian educational system and a more sensible definition of what a ‘good job’ means in 2024. We’ve gotta do it.”
“Bobby reached out about a month ago. Invited me over. It was a room full of his people, we sat down, we talked for over three hours. I do not agree with Bobby Kennedy on a couple of really important things, but the stuff we do agree on, we found ourselves nodding in something like violent agreement. We have to do something with education and vocational training, we have to. We have to do something about the debt, Chris. This is a bit out of my lane, but we get to 50 trillion dollars — I’m sorry, it’s back to the bad math — there’s no math in the world that can keep our country on track and service that kind of debt. And nobody’s talking about a way to keep it from going from 34, to 44, to 50,” Rowe continued.
“So you know it; I didn’t. He’s smart, yes. He’s got some controversial positions, yeah. He’s broken a few eggs and, no, I don’t think he’s gonna wear a tie either. But to your earlier point regarding journalism, what do people want from their journalists? We’re about to find out if it’s something entirely different. What do people want from their elected officials? I’m beginning to think part of the answer is to find somebody who doesn’t want to be elected, but who simply is willing to do something to push the rock up the hill. He checks that box too.”
In addition to Rowe, Kennedy is reportedly considering New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, as well as former Reform Party Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura to join his team. Kennedy announced he would announce his running mate March 26 in Oakland, California.
Mediaite reported Saturday that Kennedy will announce Nicole Shanahan, a California attorney and businesswoman who was once married to Google co-founder Sergey Brinn as his running mate.