Video of RFK Jr. Going Shirtless at Bodybuilding Mecca Viewed 10M Times

A clip of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. working out at an outdoor gym while shirtless has gone viral on Twitter, being viewed more than 10.5 million times so far.

"Getting in shape for my debates with President Biden!" the Democratic 2024 presidential hopeful tweeted on Sunday, who also posted footage of himself completing nine push-ups. He later clarified he could do a set of more than 10, adding: "That was my last set."

Kennedy Jr., 69, showing off his physical prowess comes at a time when his main rival, President Joe Biden, 80, has faced questions about his age and mental acuity after a series of public gaffs. Biden—already the oldest serving president in U.S. history, who will turn 82 shortly after Election Day in 2024—has brushed off concerns about his physical and mental health, stating in 2022: "I no more think of myself as being as old as I am than a fly."

"Americans gained an average of 29 pounds during the Covid lockdowns," Kennedy Jr. wrote in a follow-up tweet to the video. "I will help turn this around by encouraging our citizens to exercise, eat well, and fortify their immune systems by removing harmful chemicals from our food."

According to one study in 2022, around 48 percent of U.S. adults gained weight during the pandemic, while 18 percent lost weight. Meanwhile, Harvard Medical School wrote on its website in 2021 that just 2 percent of the population gained more than 27.5 pounds during the pandemic.

In another video posted to Twitter on Saturday by user @Cernovich, also purportedly shot during a workout session at Gold's Gym in Venice Beach, California, which describes itself as "the Mecca of bodybuilding," Kennedy Jr. can be seen bench pressing what appears to be around 110 pounds. That video has been viewed 7.4 million times on the social media platform.

According to a poll by Emmerson College of 441 registered voters, conducted between June 19-20, Kennedy Jr. has attracted 15 percent support in a slim Democratic presidential primary field. Biden, the frontrunner, garnered 73 percent while author Marianne Williamson garnered 3 percent.

The son of the assassinated senator Robert F. Kennedy made a name for himself as an environmental lawyer, litigating against waterway polluters and oil and gas pipelines.

Despite his family name being firmly seen as part of the Democratic establishment, Kennedy Jr. has attracted attention since announcing his candidacy for some unconventional views.

Most notably in the wake of the pandemic, the presidential candidate has espoused anti-vaccination claims, including unfounded suggestions that vaccines were linked to autism.

According to The Sacramento Bee, in 2015 he described claims of vaccine-linked autism cases as "a holocaust." In 2019, several members of the Kennedy family distanced themselves from his views, writing in an open letter in Politico that he "has helped to spread dangerous misinformation over social media and is complicit in sowing distrust of the science behind vaccines."

In one of his tweets on Sunday, Kennedy Jr. drew a contrast between medication and personal health, writing: "As President, I will restore America as the global example of health and well-being. Not through pills or syringes, but through character and self-discipline."

Newsweek approached Kennedy Jr.'s campaign via email for comment on Monday.