On Tuesday, anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and family embarrassment Robert F. Kennedy Jr. selected Nicole Shanahan as his running mate in his not-at-all-serious campaign for the presidency. Though this sounds like information that might serve as a stumper at a trivia game for the next eight or so months (after which Kennedy’s whole campaign will take on the same role), the selection may have more impact than it may seem.
While the Associated Press may describe Shanahan as a “California lawyer and philanthropist,” what she really represents is something else. She’s a cash bomb.
Shanahan is the former wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, whose wealth Forbes estimates at $120 billion. In divorce proceedings after just under four years of marriage to Brin, Shanahan reportedly sought over $1 billion from her ex-husband. That might seem like a relatively tiny fraction of Brin’s fortune. After all, Mackenzie Scott walked away with an estimated $38.3 billion in her 2019 divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
But the $1 billion figure seems generous considering that Brin and Shanahan’s marriage fell apart after Shanahan reportedly slept with Elon Musk.
Shanahan appears to share Kennedy’s disdain for vaccines, falsely linking them to long-term diseases and a widely debunked theory that they cause autism in children. She also expresses beliefs that people are being negatively affected by “electromagnetic pollution” from cell phones. Despite the Associated Press insisting that the 38-year-old Shanahan “brings youth” to RFK Jr’s ticket, what she really brings is her bank account.
This year’s infamous Super Bowl ad, which featured themes and images stolen from the campaign of President John F. Kennedy and resulted in the candidate apologizing to his family for the pain it generated, was largely funded by Shanahan. That 60-second spot cost a reported $7 million, with Shanahan having donated $4 million to the pro-RFK Jr. super PAC that produced it.
As The Washington Post reports, in addition to funding the ad, Shanahan has already maxed out her direct contributions to Kennedy’s campaign. However, the Post writes, “her selection as Kennedy’s running mate will allow her to give as much as she wants.”
How much is that? Maybe not a billion. Some of her wealth might be revealed on a personal final disclosure that’s due on May 15, but Shanahan may seek an extension. Even if it turns out to be more—Shanahan sold her own company, ClearAccessIP, for an unknown amount in 2020—it’s unlikely Shanahan will pour all her assets into this sub-quixotic campaign. And considering that total spending in the 2020 election topped $14 billion, whatever Shanahan takes from her vault isn’t likely to be enough to make Kennedy a serious contender.
But that’s the point. RFK Jr. is not a serious contender for the presidency and never has been. His campaign is a classic spoiler, one that leverages his familiar name to distract low-information voters. A spoiler campaign doesn’t need to worry about winning, and it doesn’t have to spend money on the kind of organization and infrastructure necessary to turn out the vote on Election Day. Instead, Shanahan’s cash can be directed to just the kind of action she helped take place during the Super Bowl—splashy ads aimed at playing on that name association, specially targeted to voters who know nothing about this election other than that they’re tired of seeing a repeat of Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump.
The biggest reason that Kennedy is in this race is because he’s been primarily encouraged and funded by Republicans. As Politico noted last November, Kennedy was pulling checks from former Trump donors at a higher rate than former Biden donors. However, that’s not necessarily an indication that he will get more Republican votes.
Speaking with CNN on Monday, Robert Kennedy Jr.’s sister Rory Kennedy called his campaign “dangerous.”
“I feel strongly that this is the most important election of our lifetime, and there’s so much at stake,” said Rory Kennedy. “I do think it’s going to come down to a handful of votes and a handful of states, and I do worry that Bobby just taking some percentage of votes from Biden could shift the election and lead to Trump’s election.”
Shanahan’s presence on the ticket may seem like another embarrassing factor in an embarrassing campaign. But she represents a pipeline of cash that can fund confusing ads that promote Kennedy and attack Biden in swing states where a few thousand voters can make a difference.
President Joe Biden’s approval ratings have been improving since his fiery State of the Union speech—as we predicted. At the same time, the Republican Party cannot stop the infighting, even as Donald Trump’s takeover seems to be complete. Markos and Kerry get into Biden’s improving fundamentals as the race to save America heats up.