If elected, “I will be the youngest vice president in American history.”
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Nicole Shanahan waves after being named the running mate for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on March 26, 2024, in Oakland, Calif. (AP)
No, Nicole Shanahan wouldn’t be the youngest vice president in history
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Nicole Shanahan is 38 years old and will be 39 if the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket wins the 2024 presidential election and she’s sworn in as vice president on Jan. 20, 2025.
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John C. Breckenridge was 36 years old when he became James Buchanan’s vice president in 1856 during the run-up to the Civil War.
Near the end of her acceptance speech as the running mate for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., technology entrepreneur and lawyer Nicole Shanahan touted the ticket’s appeal to younger voters.
At the March 26 event in Oakland, California, Shanahan said she understands young voters’ political frustrations because she also is young.
"People talk about my age," Shanahan said. "It’s true. I will be the youngest vice president in American history."
That’s incorrect. She would be the second youngest.
Shanahan was born in Placer County, California, on Sept. 26, 1985.
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That means she is 38 years old now and would be 39 on Jan. 20, 2025, if the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket wins the election and she’s sworn in.
That’s younger than most incoming vice presidents, but not every single one. John C. Breckenridge was 36 years old when he became James Buchanan’s vice president in 1856 in the run-up to the Civil War.
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John C. Breckenridge. (Matthew Brady, public domain)
The second-youngest person to be sworn in as vice president was Richard Nixon, who was 40 years old when he took office with Dwight Eisenhower in 1953.
The Kennedy campaign did not immediately respond to an inquiry for this article.
Our Sources
Robert F. Kennedy, vice presidential announcement, March 26, 2024
Meryl Kornfield, tweet, March 26, 2024
CaliforniaBirthIndex.org, Nicole Shanahan, accessed March 26, 2024
Britannica.com, John C. Breckenridge, accessed March 26, 2024
Britannica.com, Richard Nixon, accessed March 26, 2024
Los Angeles Times, "RFK Jr. names California tech lawyer Nicole Shanahan as his vice presidential choice," March 26, 2024
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No, Nicole Shanahan wouldn’t be the youngest vice president in history
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