PHILADELPHIA (CN) — Over a dozen members of the Kennedy family on Thursday officially endorsed President Biden’s reelection campaign, as Biden’s campaign seeks to claw back voters from independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kerry Kennedy, RFK Jr.’s sister, formally endorsed Biden on behalf of the Kennedy family during a Biden campaign event at North Philadelphia’s Martin Luther King Recreation Center.
“We want to make crystal clear our feeling that the best way to move forward for America is to re-elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to four more years,” she said, referring to Biden as “my hero.”
“Daddy stood for equal justice, for human rights and freedom from wanton fear,” she added, speaking of Robert F. Kennedy Sr., “just as President Biden does today.”
The elder Robert Kennedy launched a progressive and high-profile run for the presidency as a Democrat in 1968. He may well have won — but like his older brother President John Kennedy, he was ultimately assassinated at the height of his political career.
Neither Kerry Kennedy nor Biden mentioned RFK Jr. by name during their speeches. Kerry did, however, throw an indirect jab at her brother’s candidacy — suggesting that “there are only two candidates with any chance of winning the presidency” in 2024, referring to Biden and former President Donald Trump.
But Kerry Kennedy did directly target Trump, calling him “the most anti-democratic president in American history” and attacking him for “dangerous theories on climate change, vaccines, windmills and voter fraud.”
“I can only imagine how Donald Trump’s outrageous lies and behavior would horrify my father,” she noted.
Biden, who told the crowd that Robert Kennedy Sr. and Martin Luther King Jr. were his only two political heroes growing up, called the endorsements an incredible honor.
“Today, I sit behind the resolute desk, where President John F. Kennedy once sat,” he said to Kerry Kennedy.
“I sit at that desk and look," he added. "On the far left, there’s a bust of Martin Luther King, and on the right, there’s a bust of your dad. And I remember to keep looking and remind myself, ‘What would they do in tough calls?’”
Ahead of the endorsements, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released a statement on X (formerly Twitter), saying he’s pleased his family is remaining politically active.
“It’s a family tradition,” he wrote. “We are divided in our opinions but united in our love for each other.”
David Barrett, a political science professor at Villanova University, told Courthouse News that the target and reasoning for Biden’s acceptance of the Kennedy family’s endorsement couldn’t be more apparent.
“I think it’s pretty clear that the Biden campaign, presumably including President Biden himself, sees the potential for damage caused by RFK Jr.’s candidacy to Biden’s chances of winning re-election,” he said.
Barrett added that Kennedy Jr. poses little to no threat of claiming the presidency over Biden or Trump. Rather, he suggested Kennedy Jr.’s campaign could pull votes away from Biden in key swing states, potentially handing those states’ electoral votes — and the presidential election — to Donald Trump.
Kennedy Jr. on Thursday officially qualified to appear on the general election ballot in Michigan — a key swing state that Trump won in 2016, but that voted for Biden in 2020.
Kennedy Jr. is currently polling nationally at eight percent of the general election vote, according to Emerson College. That same data has Trump four points ahead of Biden.
While Barrett suggested Kennedy Jr.’s true share of votes will likely be fewer come election day, he added that Biden’s indirect targeting of Kennedy Jr.’s campaign is likely a worthwhile campaign decision.
“I don’t think that RFK Jr. can sustain the sort of high level of support that he’s getting right now in the polls,” he said. But "if Kennedy can sustain the sorts of numbers through election day — the numbers that he’s getting currently — I think that would be awfully bad for Biden.”
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