More than a dozen members of the Kennedy family endorsed President Joe Biden Thursday in a strong show of opposition toward the campaign of their relative Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The independent candidate's kin have been vocal about their political differences with him in the past, but the group had yet to make such a formal declaration of dissent as they did at the president's campaign event in Philadelphia.
RFK Jr.'s siblings were among those who showed their support for the Democratic front-runner, whom Kerry Kennedy — RFK Jr.'s sister, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy's daughter and former President John F. Kennedy's niece — called her "hero."
"We want to make crystal clear our feeling that the best way forward for America is to reelect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to four more years," Kerry Kennedy said at the campaign event. "President Biden has been a champion for all the rights and freedoms that my father and uncle stood for. That's why nearly every single grandchild of Joe and Rose Kennedy supports Joe Biden."
RFK Jr. apologizes to Kennedy family for Super Bowl ad he promoted
Some members of the Kennedy family have distanced themselves from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his presidential bid.
RFK Jr. began as a Democratic challenger to President Biden before transitioning to run as an independent. This may be why the third-party candidate has been seen as more of an opponent of the incumbent than the Republican front-runner former President Donald Trump, who has recently said he'd vote for "RFK Jr. every single time over Biden" if he were a Democrat.
Neither President Biden nor Kerry Kennedy mentioned RFK Jr. during the event Thursday. The latter even suggested her relative didn't have a chance in the race, stating "there are only two candidates with any chance of winning the presidency," while the president focused his remarks on his GOP competitor.
"Donald Trump's vision is one of anger, hate, revenge and retribution. He embraces the insurrectionists of January the 6th. He's running on it," the president said during his third consecutive day of appearances in Pennsylvania. "Look, your family, the Kennedy family, has endured such violence. Denying Jan. 6 and whitewashing what happened is absolutely outrageous."
Meanwhile, RFK Jr. said his family's public stand falls in line with "family tradition" of being politically active.
"We are divided in our opinions but united in our love for each other," he wrote in a post on X. "My campaign, which many of my family members are working on and supportive of, is about healing America — healing our economy, our chronic disease crisis, our middle class, our environment and our standing in the world as a peaceful nation."
I hear some of my family will be endorsing President Biden today. I am pleased they are politically active — it’s a family tradition. We are divided in our opinions but united in our love for each other.
I hold this as a possibility for America too. Can we disagree without…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) April 18, 2024
The latest polling data from Decision Desk HQ, which Scripps News uses to track polling results, and The Hill shows RFK Jr. polling about 7% while Trump and President Biden sit around 42% each. This trajectory has placed the longshot candidate in a position as a potential spoiler come Election Day, now under seven months away.
