It's a blunt admission after months of criticism from Democrats that the Kennedy campaign appeared more concerned with helping Trump than it was in running a truly independent bid for president. And it comes as the campaign continues to hemorrhage money, despite multi-million-dollar injections of cash from Shanahan herself.

During a new interview with the podcast "Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu," Shanahan blasted the Democratic Party for trying to "sabotage" their campaign, adding that "one of the biggest mistakes of my life" was her past support for the Democrats. Admitting she's "acknowledging how bad things are," Shanahan said that "technically, we could win," as she mused about the campaign's path forward after a period of setbacks.

"We are taking a very serious look at making sure the people that have corrupted our fair and free democracy do not end up in office in November," Shanahan said.

"The question is, you know, is the risk of a Harris-Walz presidency worth us staying in?" she continued. "And that's the question we have to ask ourselves right now. One: Do we trust Trump and his personal sincerity to really do the right thing for our country, end chronic disease, balance the budget, end these forever wars. Is he somebody that's going to continue to invite people like Bobby and I into the conversation, or is he going to fall victim again to the things he fell victim to in his first administration?"

While noting that the campaign could lay the foundation for a more durable, new political party if it secured enough of the vote in November, Shanahan put a finer point on the internal debate the campaign is facing.

"There's two options that we're looking at, and one is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and Walz presidency, because we draw votes from Trump, or we draw somehow more votes from Trump," she said.

"Or we walk away right now and join forces with with Donald Trump. And you know, we walk away from that, and we explain to our base why we're making this decision."