RFK Jr. denies claim he’s dropping out of presidential race, says he leads in popularity

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. insisted on Friday he’s still competing in the 2024 presidential race after an influential Trump surrogate suggested he was dropping out to support the Republican candidate.

“I’m in it to win it,” Kennedy Jr. wrote on X after Students for Trump founder Ryan Fournier posted — and then deleted — a comment making the claim on the same platform.

“I lead in popularity and independents are now the largest voting bloc,” Kennedy Jr. added. “Momentum is shifting in my favor as I close in on ballot access in all 50 states.”

A leaked phone call between Trump, 78, and Kennedy, Jr., 70 — recorded some time after an assassination attempt on Trump at a July 13 rally — indicated the GOP nominee wanted the Independent to team up with him to defeat the Democratic candidate, who at the time, was President Joe Biden.

Biden removed himself from the race on Sunday and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him.

“I look forward to challenging President Trump and the DNC nominee at the next debate,” Kennedy Jr. concluded in his Friday post.

The Trump campaign appeared energized after its leader survived the assassination attempt and was lavished with praise days later at the raucous Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Trump held a lead over Biden earlier this month, but the latest polling shows the Democratic ticket got a shot in the arm when Harris, 59, replaced the 81-year-old president as the presumptive nominee. Harris and Trump are essentially now neck and neck.

Meanwhile, Kennedy Jr. is polling in the single digits, but his sway among Independent voters could help tip the race to a major party candidate should he decide to drop out.