Last month, Aaron Rodgers landed on the radar screen of national politics as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s potential running mate for an independent presidential ticket. In a lengthy interview with the I Can Fly podcast, Rodgers publicly acknowledged his candidacy for the first time.
He also expressed significant concerns for the health and well-being of the candidate he refers to as “Bobby.”
“The two-party system that we got in place doesn’t work, hasn’t been working, hasn’t been working really since JFK was in office, and we need somebody who’s willing to lay it on the line,” Rodgers said. “That’s what I love about Bobby. Think about it. They killed his uncle. They killed his dad. We know the CIA was involved, right? I mean, they can’t declassify it because it’s so damning. We know the FBI was involved. [J. Edgar] Hoover hated the Kennedys. Hated them. Allen Dulles was fired as director of CIA after he botched the Bay of Pigs and tried to get Operation Northwoods to happen to literally start World War III and invade Cuba. He was fired. He was on the fucking Warren Commission, Allen Dulles was, as was Gerald Ford, who was the right hand man to J. Edgar Hoover, who hated the Kennedys. Like, we know they’re involved.
“So Bobby loses his uncle, JFK, his father, RFK. His cousin dies in a plane crash when he was running against Hillary Clinton. I’m not saying that was a conspiracy, but it’s kind of a weird coincidence. Bobby’s in danger, you know? Like he’s putting himself on the line. Why? Because he fucking believes in this country. He believes in this country. He believes in the good in people and he believes he can make a difference. That’s somebody I can get behind who’s willing to lay it on the line.”
Rodgers was indeed a candidate to literally get behind Kennedy.
“I got mentioned as a finalist to be, you know, Vice President on a ticket and they fucking attacked me with some bizarre story from years ago,” Rodgers said. “There was a third-hand account or something. They’re terrified. They’re terrified of people that think for themselves that aren’t controlled. I’m not beholden to anybody. I have a contract. I can get cut at any point. I have very few sponsors now. They’re all people that I really believe in and there’s some sort of equity investment in it. But I’m not controlled. Nobody controls my messaging. Nobody controlling my social media. Nobody can control me. You know, I think for myself. I speak for myself. And that’s dangerous to an establishment that wants more power, control and obedience.”
It’s not quite that complicated. Once Rodgers landed in a different realm, his views on certain matters became instantly relevant. And it wasn’t a third-hand account of his supposed belief that the Sandy Hook shooting was an inside job. Pamela Brown of CNN was not only one of the reporters on the story but also a person with whom Rodgers directly shared those observations, at the Kentucky Derby.
While it’s completely on brand for Rodgers to paint himself as a victim, the simple truth is that he was thinking about entering a much more complicated and competitive world. The moment that happened, he got a taste of what it’s like to have his past comments on matters of political significance used against him.
So why is he involved in politics at all?
“The country’s in a bad place and it’s not going to get better with Weekend at Bernie’s, who can barely put a sentence together, if that’s even him,” Rodgers said. “It’s not going to get better I don’t think with Mr. Trump, Mr. President Trump, who had four years to do it and kept Anthony Fauci in charge.”
The slap at Joe Biden is bizarre, frankly. His performance during the State of the Union address quieted any and all legitimate concerns that Biden can’t “put a sentence together” or that he’s animatronic or being played by a body double.
Doesn’t the fact that Rodgers would even say that out loud tell us everything we need to know about his views? He’s a habitual conspiracy theorist. While I fully agree that the government lies to us about certain things, it’s impossible for EVERYTHING to be a lie. If Rodgers is willing to suggest that Biden isn’t Biden and/or that it’s a “weird coincidence” that JFK Jr. died in a plane crash when he was running for the Senate against Hillary Clinton (he wasn’t), it’s fair for people of sound mind and common sense to reasonably conclude that he’s reckless and shallow and a faux intellectual who is desperately looking for a way to wedge the guiding principles of the protagonists in Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Guardians of the Galaxy onto our current political realities.
Yes, Rodgers repeatedly mentioned his affinity for those films and his fascination with the motivations of their main characters. On that note, here’s a character from a different film that quite possibly sums him up perfectly: Otto in A Fish Called Wanda.
