Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doused rumors about his political future by announcing he won’t be seeking the presidency in 2028.
Kennedy began a 2024 run as a Democrat, pivoted to an independent bid and then parlayed an endorsement of Trump into a gig as Health and Human Services secretary.
“Let me be clear: I am not running for president in 2028,” Kennedy wrote Friday on X. “My loyalty is to President Trump and the mission we’ve started. …We’ll keep moving forward, we’ll keep delivering wins, and no smear campaign will stop us.”
Kennedy attributed the rumors to “DC lobby shops” looking to destroy his relationship with President Donald Trump and calling them a “flat-out lie.”
Kennedy, the scion of a Democratic family dynasty, has been the subject of suspicion among MAGA figures over his loyalties, The Washington Post reported.
Last week far-right influencer Laura Loomer accused HHS principal deputy chief of staff Stefanie Spear, who’s a former press secretary for Kennedy, of plotting a path to the White House for her boss.
“I think that there’s a clear intention by Stefanie Spear to utilize her position to try to lay the groundwork for a 2028 RFK presidential run,” Loomer alleged to Politico.
Kennedy’s super PAC also held an organizing call recently, sparking speculation that the secretary was considering another run. But the leader of the PAC told the Washington Post there was no truth to it.
During their teaming-up in the 2024 election, Kennedy appealed to then-candidate Trump with his MAGA-friendly science-disputing stance on vaccines, including COVID-19.
Earlier this month, Kennedy announced he’s slashing nearly $500 million from the development of mRNA vaccines. MRNA technology generated safe and effective COVID vaccines in Trump’s first term. Experts say the move will generate more skepticism around science.
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