Robert F. Kennedy Jr. denied Friday that he planned to end his presidential campaign and throw his support behind Donald Trump.
The independent candidate's modest poll numbers have collapsed since President Joe Biden ended his campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, and he reportedly had talks earlier this month about taking a possible position in a second Trump administration, but Kennedy insisted Friday he would remain in the race.
"Fake news," he posted on X in response to a report that he had canceled campaign events and has discussed dropping out to possibly endorse Trump.
"I'm in it to win it," Kennedy said in response to a similar report. "I lead in popularity and independents are now the largest voting bloc. Momentum is shifting in my favor as I close in on ballot access in all 50 states. I look forward to challenging President Trump and the DNC nominee at the next debate. #AmericaStrong"
An Ipsos/Reuters survey of nearly 1,000 registered voters conducted in the two days after Biden left the race found Kennedy had just 8 percent support in a three-way race with Harris and the former president, down from 11 percent support in a similar poll conducted the previous week.
Another poll, conducted this week by Big Village Caravan, of more than 2,000 U.S. adults found 6.7 percent support for Kennedy, down from the 9.2 percent he had earlier this month.
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The Washington Post reported Monday that four sources say Kennedy had discussed a role under Trump overseeing health and medical issues, and he did not exactly deny those talks had taken place.
“All I will say to you is I am willing to talk to anybody from either political party who wants to talk about children’s health and how to end the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy told the newspaper. “I have a lot of respect for President Trump for reaching out to me. Nobody from the DNC, high or low, has ever reached out to me in 18 months. Instead, they have allocated millions to try to disrupt my campaign.”
"We are in it to win it,” Kennedy added in that interview.
