Aaron Rodgers Reacts to RFK Jr. Message Amid Vice President Rumors

It is rumored that Aaron Rodgers is shortlisted to be Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vice-presidential running mate—and now the football star has reacted to one of the U.S. White House candidate's videos on social media.

RFK Jr. shared his thoughts on the proposed U.S. ban on TikTok when he uploaded a video to X (formerly Twitter). "I want you to remember that every right the government has ever taken away was removed under the false pretense of national security," he captioned the clip, which Rodgers liked.

The Context

Rumors have been circulating that Aaron Rodgers might be a running mate for the independent presidential candidate.

Kennedy Jr. told The New York Times that his top vice presidential picks were the New York Jets quarterback and Jesse Ventura, a retired wrestler and former governor of Minnesota.

The presidential candidate is the son of the former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 while campaigning for president. Kennedy Jr. and Rodgers share views on vaccines, and they have both been outspoken in support of COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy theories.

What We Know

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted to separate TikTok from its Chinese owner ByteDance by a vote of 352-65—and now all eyes are on the Senate. President Joe Biden has said he'd sign the bill if it passed both houses of Congress.

The debate surrounding the short video-sharing platform is rooted in national security concerns, as Chinese companies are required by law to hand over data to their government upon request. The current legislation would force ByteDance to sell TikTok within six months to avoid a ban. Critics say the move threatens free speech and the livelihoods of thousands of employees and influencers.

RFK Jr. weighed in on the debate on Thursday when he uploaded a video to X. At the time of writing, it had been viewed 638,300 times.

"I've been hearing a lot about the momentum in Congress to ban TikTok and I want you to remember that every right that the government has ever taken away from citizens was removed under the pretense of national security," RFK Jr. said.

"My father's favorite philosopher, Albert Camus, wrote that the welfare of the people is always the alibi of tyrants. And it provides [the] further advantage of giving the servants of tyranny a clear conscious. Remember that when Congress gives Joe Biden the power to remove an app from your cell phone."

RFK Jr. went on to call the app "the digital public square" and said that Biden himself has joined TikTok. He added that if there are security concerns in the tech backend, that should be addressed, but people's ability to "freely exchange ideas" should never be reduced.

RFK Jr. said: "TikTok has become an avenue for young Americans to grow businesses, to express themselves and to join in the political discourse. In fact, my campaign found one of its key staffers on the TikTok platform.

"President Biden enjoys censoring and silencing those who question him. I know that because I just won a lawsuit in the court of appeals on that issue against him. So it's no surprise that he supports banning TikTok."

RFK Jr. concluded the video by saying the First Amendment shouldn't be disregarded for any reason, adding: "We should be encouraging for more discourse in this country instead of less. Americans can't rely on the big three networks to give them real information. As president, I'm going to fight for your free speech rights and for all Americans to have platforms in which to grow their businesses and express themselves."

Views

Newsweek emailed spokespeople for Rodgers and RFK Jr. for comment Friday.

As well as Rodgers liking the video once it was shared to X, other social-media users commented to express their gratitude for the U.S. presidential candidate.

"That's exactly the kind of President we want! The current bill is a Trojan horse to take down what they deem dangerous - the truth. People won't forget in November," one person wrote.

"You're making huge inroads with young Americans and it's because of videos like this," posted another.

A third added: "This is my FUTURE PRESIDENT right here!!!"

However, others are less impressed with RFK Jr. and his politics.

"Every right to life saving vaccines would be taken away under your complete ignorance, if you prevailed. To be clear: If #RFKJr were to become president, his glaring lack of medical and epidemiological understanding would strip away every individual's right to access life-saving vaccines for current and future infectious diseases. 14-Year-a heroin addict! Thankfully, you'll never be President you disgusting traitor bought by #GOP to elect Trump!" one person commented.

Another added: "Welcome to a reghash [sic] of Donald Trump's 2016 message, 'Everybody is lying to you and out to get you but me.'"

What's Next?

One of the remaining obstacles for the TikTok divestment bill is getting through the U.S. Senate. Legislators from both parties will scrutinize the bill and alternative ban proposals may present competition.

RFK Jr. is set to announce his running mate this month.

Update 03/15/24, 8:20 a.m. ET. This article was updated with more information.

Update 03/15/24, 8:53 a.m. ET. This article was updated with more information.