On August 15, 2025, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the current Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), issued a pointed and unequivocal statement: he will not run for president in 2028. His announcement, delivered via a lengthy post on the social platform X, was a direct response to an intensifying swirl of rumors and accusations—most notably from conservative influencer Laura Loomer—claiming that Kennedy and his top aides were quietly laying the groundwork for another White House bid.
“The swamp is in full panic mode,” Kennedy wrote, describing the political climate around him. “DC lobby shops are laboring fiercely to drive a wedge between President Trump and me, hoping to thwart our team from dismantling the status quo and advancing [Trump’s] Make America Healthy Again agenda. They’re pushing the flat-out lie that I’m running for president in 2028. Let me be clear: I am not running for president in 2028.” According to ABC News and Newsweek, Kennedy’s words were not just a denial—they were a defense of his record and loyalty, and a rebuttal to what he described as a campaign of misinformation.
Laura Loomer, a prominent right-wing activist and self-described “MAGA loyalist,” has a history of targeting administration officials she deems insufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump. Recently, Loomer turned her sights on Kennedy and, more specifically, his longtime aide and deputy chief of staff at HHS, Stefanie Spear. In an interview with Politico, Loomer accused Spear of using her position to prepare for a 2028 Kennedy presidential run. "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 claimed. She also expressed skepticism about staffing decisions at HHS, saying, “I’m not naive enough to think that the president is going to get rid of RFK, but I will say that … there are concerns about some of the staffing decisions over at HHS.”
Kennedy, 71, has not shied away from defending his staff. In his X post, he called Spear “a fierce, loyal warrior for MAHA who proudly serves in the Trump Administration and works every day to advance President Trump’s vision for a healthier, stronger America.” According to The Telegraph and Endpoints News, Spear’s loyalty has been questioned by some within the MAGA movement ever since Kennedy was tapped to lead HHS following his endorsement of Trump in 2024. Spear, who previously worked as Kennedy’s press secretary during his failed 2024 presidential campaign and collaborated with him at the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense, has become a lightning rod for suspicion among Trump’s most ardent supporters.
Kennedy’s path to his current position has been anything but conventional. He launched his 2024 presidential campaign as a Democrat, later became an independent, and ultimately dropped out to endorse Trump. As reported by LiveNOW and Associated Press, Trump saw Kennedy’s large following among the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement as a political asset, appointing him to lead HHS in a bid to harness that energy for his administration. Kennedy’s focus, he reiterated in his post, is on ending what he calls the nation’s “chronic disease epidemic”—a core priority of the MAHA movement that he has championed for decades. “The president has made himself the answer to my 20-year prayer that God would put me in a position to end the chronic disease epidemic—and that’s exactly what my team and I will do until the day he leaves office,” Kennedy wrote.
The speculation about Kennedy’s political ambitions has not arisen in a vacuum. Moves by Kennedy-aligned PACs, including organizing calls and grassroots mobilization efforts, have fueled questions about whether the former Democratic candidate might be positioning himself for another campaign. According to The Hill, Tony Lyons, leader of the Kennedy-supporting MAHA PAC, sought to put these rumors to rest. “The story that Secretary Kennedy was running for president was a made up story. There’s no truth to it whatsoever,” Lyons stated. He emphasized that Kennedy “never gave any indication that he was planning to run for president,” and that his focus remains firmly on his current role and mission.
Yet, the undercurrents of suspicion persist. Loomer’s campaign against Kennedy and Spear is just the latest in a series of efforts by pro-Trump activists to police the ideological purity of administration officials. Loomer has previously boasted about orchestrating the ouster of other Trump administration figures, such as Vinay Prasad, a vaccine regulator at the Food and Drug Administration, before his reinstatement by White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. According to Axios and POLITICO, Loomer’s tactics are part of a broader trend within the MAGA movement to ensure unwavering loyalty to Trump and his agenda.
The broader context for all this intrigue is the looming 2028 presidential race—a contest that, while years away, is already shaping up to be fiercely competitive. Potential candidates are making early moves, traveling to key states and building support among primary voters. On the Republican side, Trump has publicly named Vice President JD Vance as the “most likely” heir to his MAGA legacy, and a recent Emerson College poll showed Vance gaining traction among Republican voters in North Carolina. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are also seen as potential contenders, though their support lags behind Vance’s in recent polling.
Despite the swirling rumors and the fevered speculation, Kennedy has made it clear that his ambitions lie elsewhere—for now, at least. “My loyalty is to President Trump and the mission we’ve started,” he stated flatly. “Their attacks on my staff, especially Stefanie Spear … are proof we’re over the target.” He went on to praise Trump for “delivering on every promise beyond my wildest dreams—ending war, protecting free speech, rebuilding American industry and the American middle class, delivering transparency and gold standard science, and breaking the grip of entrenched interests.”
Kennedy’s defenders within the MAHA movement echo his sentiments. Lyons told The Telegraph that Kennedy had “prayed for 20 years to have the opportunity that President Trump has given him.” As for what comes next, Kennedy says he will continue to prioritize Trump’s agenda and serve under the president until Trump leaves office. While some of his allies and aligned PACs continue to organize grassroots networks that could, in theory, be deployed for a future campaign, Kennedy himself has publicly and repeatedly ruled out any intention of running for president in 2028.
For now, the rumors have been put to rest—at least as far as Kennedy is concerned. As the 2028 race slowly takes shape, all eyes remain on the shifting alliances and ambitions within the Trump administration. But one thing is clear: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not throwing his hat into the ring, and he’s not shy about saying so.