Trump names 'radical left' ex-rivals to chair his transition team

Donald Trump will name his new allies Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard as honorary co-chairs of his presidential transition team, according to a senior campaign adviser.

The Republican presidential nominee offered the roles to the pair of former Democrats as he seeks to regain momentum after Kamala Harris took over as that party's nominee from President Joe Biden, reported the New York Times.

“I’ve been asked to go on the transition team, you know, and to help pick the people who will be running the government,” Kennedy told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in an interview posted on X.

Kennedy ended his long-shot presidential campaign Friday and endorsed Trump, who had called him a "radical left lunatic" as recently as four months ago. Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who briefly ran for president in 2020, endorsed the former president on Monday after helping him prepare for his upcoming debate with Harris.

They will join Trump's sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, in addition to vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, as honorary chairs of the transition.

"[We are] proud that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard have been added to the Trump/Vance Transition team," said campaign senior adviser Brian Hughes. "We look forward to having their powerful voices on the team as we work to restore America’s greatness.”

In 2019, while pursuing the Democratic nomination for president, Gabbard said of Trump: "Trump awaits instructions from his Saudi masters. Having our country act as Saudi Arabia's b---- is not 'America First.'"

But Trump in 2019 had vetted Gabbard, then still a member of Congress, for a position in his presidential administration, according to Axios and Honolulu Civil Beat. Trump ultimately did not select her for a job while he was president.