Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) laid out two conditions Sunday that would move him from thinking about a 2028 presidential run to launching one.
The Louisiana Republican shared them with viewers of NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Moderator Kristen Welker asked him directly whether he is considering a White House bid.
He said he is.
Kennedy then described his plans for the time being. “My plans right now are to run for reelection,” he said.
The first condition involves his work in the chamber. “But as I’ve said before, if I don’t think I can be effective in the Senate anymore, I would consider it,” Kennedy said.
He tied the second condition to the makeup of the Republican field and described the scenario in his own words.
“If a bunch of, on my side of the aisle, if a bunch of goobers run, and I think they’re goobers and one of the goobers might win, and I think I could do a better job, I would consider running,” he said.
Kennedy ended that answer where he began it. “But right now, I’m running for reelection.”
Welker built her questions around the 2028 landscape.
She told Kennedy the list of possible candidates keeps growing, and she pointed out that he has already spent time on the campaign trail, including in New Hampshire.
She then pressed him on a matchup. Welker asked why Republican voters should choose him over Vice President JD Vance if both men sought the nomination.
Kennedy sidestepped the comparison. He declined to discuss another potential candidate and told Welker he was “just not there yet.”
He did offer a forecast. Kennedy said he assumes Vance will run, “just like I think Rahm is going to run.” He was referring to Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago mayor and White House chief of staff.
The senator said a crowded contest would serve both parties. He told Welker “it’ll be good for both parties to have a full field.”
Kennedy also returned to his earlier word choice. He said “a lot of people enter the field, and I think they are goobers,” and stressed that he was not saying he would run.
Sunday’s message matched what he said earlier this year. Kennedy gave a similar answer in June during an interview with NewsNation.
In that conversation, he said he was focused on the midterm elections and his Senate reelection campaign. He did not rule out a presidential bid.
Kennedy told the network that people had spoken with him about running for president. He described that talk with a similar formulation, “Why not me?”
His schedule has taken him well beyond Louisiana this year. Kennedy has appeared in several states on behalf of other Republican candidates.
Politico reported that those stops have included New Hampshire, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee. The outlet also reported that he has additional travel planned in places such as Michigan and Georgia.
As of Sunday, Kennedy’s stated plan is a Senate reelection campaign, with a 2028 presidential run still under consideration.
