Aaron Rodgers 'definitely' thought about being RFK Jr's running mate, calls Vladimir Putin 'thoughtful,' floats NFL fake vaccine card theory

Aaron Rodgers questions everything and everyone.

COVID. Vaccines. Government. And that's just scratching the surface.

So, when presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. came to him earlier this year and asked him about his interest in being his running mate, the former Green Bay Packers quarterback had a question in return.

"I said, 'Are you serious? I’m a (expletive) football player,'" Rodgers remembers saying, before he seriously considered the offer.

Rodgers, of course, has been much more than a football player over the last few years, as his public feuds with everyone from late-night talk show hosts to fellow football players to the country's leading immunologist and even the president of the United States have been magnified.

Rodgers, who calls himself "super-patriotic" and said he's trying to go up against the "evils" in the world, dove into it all again during a two-hour conversation with ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson on the media personality's X account.

"I’m not beholden to anybody," Rodgers said in the interview that was conducted last week after his annual trip to the Kentucky Derby. "I’m dangerous to 'them,' because I speak my mind. I’m not a cliché-ridden, obedient star athlete. I speak my mind. I’m a loose cannon to them."

Here are some takeaways from the conversation:

Aaron Rodgers was interested in being RFK Jr.'s running mate for 2024 election

Before RFK Jr. tapped tech entrepreneur and lawyer Nicole Shanahan to be his running mate, Rodgers was one of his choices as well.

After Kennedy met Rodgers with surprise about the request, the four-time NFL MVP said he was considering it.

"Oh yeah, I thought about it," said Rodgers, who is prepping for his 20th season in the NFL and second with the New York Jets, though he only played four snaps last year after tearing his Achilles in Week 1. "Definitely thought about it because I love Bobby and I just wanted to hear what he had to say about it."

Why would Rodgers want the job?

"I love this country and I’d love to be a part of bringing it back to what she used to be," Rodgers said.

Kennedy is an independent candidate whose views on vaccines align with Rodgers.

Kennedy's family has rejected RFK Jr's run for president and endorsed President Joe Biden in the 2024 election.

Aaron Rodgers talks Donald Trump and claims the United States has unsecured elections

There was a time when Rodgers said he didn't want to get into politics. That's changed.

"Look at some of these policies. How does it make sense?" Rodgers said. "Open border, non-secure elections, to have the lobbying we have in Washington where pharmaceutical companies, the 'Big Ag,' the big everything control the policy, control of the policy-makers."

A national coalition of election security officials called the 2020 election "the most secure in American history" following repeated false claims by former president Donald Trump that it was marred with fraud. States where Trump challenged the election, including in Wisconsin, also confirmed the results.

Rodgers added that "there are just a lot of issues that seem really un-American," while referencing bills where "billions of dollars" are spent on the war in Ukraine, Israel and college campuses.

Speaking of Trump, Rodgers appears to appreciate the former president and why "red-blooded Americans" support him.

"He speaks the rhetoric of taking back, making America great again," Rodgers said of the former president's slogan. But Rodgers said Trump had four years to do improve the country (from 2016-20) and "didn’t drain the swamp." Rodgers wonders whether Trump "just got scared about what he learned when he was in there."

Aaron Rodgers on Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin

Rodgers also hit on another country's president, Vladimir Putin.

Carlson conducted a two-hour interview with the Russian president earlier this year, something that Rodgers called "(expletive) awesome."

"Putin came off as an interesting, thoughtful, smart individual," Rodgers said.

Rodgers then took a shot at Biden while appearing to praise Putin.

"I’d love to see Joe Biden give an interview where he can speak on the history of the United States in the same way that Putin talked about the history of his country," Rodgers said.

Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The war continues over two years later.

Aaron Rodgers floats theory about NFL players having fake vaccination cards

Rodgers has made his intentions more than clear on COVID-19 and vaccines for over three years.

"When I tested positive for COVID, my whole world changed," he said, reinforcing how he lost sponsors and "allies in the media" over his vocal stance.

Rodgers then used similar language that he did during his controversial interview on "The Pat McAfee Show" in calling the representatives that the NFL sent to every team during the 2021 season to enforce and educate players on vaccinations "stooges."

The NFL wanted to get every team "above 90%" for vaccionation rates with zero exemption and zero informed consent, Rodgers said. Rodgers added that he asked a lot of questions in this team meeting and that his teammates and others in the building in Green Bay thanked him.

In reality, there were medical and religious exemptions.

When Carlson said he knew people in the Navy who had fake vaccine cards, he asked Rodgers if that was prevalent in the NFL.

"I don’t have any idea," Rodgers said. "I’m sure there was plenty that got fake cards. There’s a base level of hesitancy around just big pharma and medicine in general when you’re Black. Based on the history, it’s warranted."

Rodgers then discussed the different set of rules he was subjected to as a non-vaccinated player. He has previously called out the NFL for its "draconian policies" and creating a "two-class system" during this time.

"I’m sure there were fake cards that went around," he said again.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Aaron Rodgers on RFK Jr., Putin, Donald Trump, Biden, COVID vaccine