As first reported by The New York Times, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers isn’t just endorsing fellow anti-vaxxer Robert Kennedy Jr.’s 2024 presidential run, he’s also “welcoming overtures” from the independent candidate to join his ticket as his running mate.
As ridiculous as it sounds, especially given that Rodgers just said last week that he thinks he might be able to play in the NFL for four more years, Kennedy confirmed to The Times that the one-time Super Bowl winner is at the top of his list of VP candidates and that the two have been speaking “pretty continuously” for the past month. Former Minnesota governor and pro wrestler Jesse Ventura is also at the top of Kennedy’s VP list.
Other potential running mates, including former Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and former NYC Mayor candidate Andrew Yang, have turned Kennedy down or their discussions “have not advanced.” That has not been the case with Rodgers or Ventura — and Kennedy may have a favorite. “If anything could be interpreted as a hint of where Mr. Kennedy might lean, the domain name kennedyrodgers.com was registered last week using a GoDaddy host,” according to The Times.
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Jaylon Johnson came clean at the press conference for his contract extensionRodgers making a run at VP alongside Kennedy this fall while also playing quarterback for the Jets under the bright lights of New York would be nothing short of a three-ring circus and would inevitably become a major distraction for a football team that seems to struggle with focus on an annual basis. Rodgers, who was hurt four plays into last season and watched the Jets go 7-10 from the sideline, made an appeal to limit off-field distractions in the 2024 season and beyond during his wrap-up press conference. “Anything in this building that we’re doing that has nothing to do with winning needs to be assessed,” Rodgers said, via The Athletic. “Everything that we do has to have a purpose…the bullshit that has nothing to do with winning has to get out of the building.”
Vainly attempting to win a November presidential election certainly has nothing to do with winning football games, so it would seem Rodgers should perform the type of assessment he called for back in January on himself.
There’s also the matter of Jets owner Woody Johnson, who served as Donald Trump’s ambassador to Britain from 2017 to 2021 and was recently seen with Trump at a rally in South Carolina. Rodgers running on the anti-vax ticket would also appear to be a source of annoyance for Johnson, an heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune.
If Kennedy picks Rodgers and he accepts, it’s going to be messy for a Jets organization that somehow has itself confused with a winner. If Ventura gets the VP nod, Rodgers can wait until 2028 after he plays four more years.
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