A shirtless, be-denimed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is all over Twitter, trying to prove he is fit to be the next president.
The 2024 Democratic candidate posted a video of himself doing push-ups on Sunday with the caption “getting in shape for my debates with President Biden!”
The push-up video followed a separate post of RFK Jr. lifting weights on Saturday.
“No one lifting shirtless in sun with jeans, tuned up on TRT, would ever betray this great country,” wrote right-wing influencer Mike Cernovich.
The videos drew both praise and mockery, as well as an onslaught of criticism of President Joe Biden’s fitness, whose health has continually been called into question. A recent NBC News poll found that more than two-thirds of respondents are concerned about Biden’s mental and physical health as president, with 55% having “major” concerns.
“The only time Biden does a push up is when he ‘pushes himself up’ off the floor after falling down,” quipped one user, referencing Biden’s recent tumble.
“RFK Jr. is probably the most jacked presidential candidate we’ve ever had,” commented another.
However, the 69-year-old candidate’s push-up video also drew some snide remarks about him doing less than ten push-ups, prompting him to later clarify: “I can do more than 10 pushups. That was my last set.”
The video also prompted calls for a Biden-RFK Jr. push-up competition, given Biden’s past jokes about push-ups.
In 2019, Biden joked that if former President Donald Trump attacked him over his age, he’d say, ‘Come on Donald, come on man. How many push-ups do you want to do here, pal?’” He also challenged an Iowa voter who confronted him during a campaign stop to a push-up competition.
“If Biden won’t debate Kennedy, he should at least do one of those push-up contests he loves to challenge random voters to,” wrote one user.
“Politics would 100% be more interesting if our leaders were decided over a death match in an arena,” joked another.
“Replace the electoral college with a decathlon,” proposed another.
While RFK Jr. is captivating the internet’s attention for his push-ups, he’s also going viral for a number of absurd, incorrect anti-vax statements. A recent appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast sparked outrage and led to a doctor being harassed online for over a week.
And while RFK Jr. has been pushing for Biden to debate him, it’s unlikely the president would debate any challengers as he seeks the Democratic re-nomination for president in 2024, shirtless or otherwise.
