CNN
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President Joe Biden received formal support Thursday from more than a dozen members of the extended Kennedy family, aiming to exploit the legacy of a famous Democratic family while implicitly emphasizing their near-universal rejection of a third party challenge ridden by one of their own, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The broader Kennedy family has largely shunned RFK Jr.’s campaign, calling it “dangerous“, even though the candidate himself seeks to capitalize on your last name and family history.
But Thursday’s event in Philadelphia — the same city where RFK Jr. announced his independent bid for president in October — nevertheless highlights the threat Kennedy poses to Biden as he seeks re-election in a race where even an underperforming third-party candidate could act as a spoiler.
In a speech introducing Biden, Kerry Kennedy — one of RFK Jr.’s sisters who helped lead his family’s organizing efforts — called the president “a champion of all the rights and freedoms that my father and uncles,” while also warning of threats posed by Donald Trump to democracy and freedom.
“Donald Trump wants to take us backwards, attacking the most fundamental rights and freedoms that are at the heart of who we are as Americans,” she said. “He said he would be a dictator from day one, even saying he wanted to try to suspend the Constitution. »
“I can only imagine how Donald Trump’s lies and outrageous behavior would have horrified my father, Robert F. Kennedy, who proudly served as Attorney General of the United States and fulfilled his promise to uphold the law and protect the country,” Kennedy added. .
Biden’s reelection campaign, she said, should “unite not just Democrats, but all Americans, including Republicans and independents.”
While most of her comments focused on Trump, she took the opportunity to attack her brother’s campaign.
“In 2024,” she said, “there are only two candidates with a chance of winning the presidency. »
Speaking after Kerry Kennedy, Biden seemed visibly touched by her remarks, looking up to the sky as he said: “Mom and Dad, I hope you were listening.”
“Kerry,” the president said, “this was the most meaningful presentation I have ever received in my life.”
Biden said Robert F. Kennedy Sr.’s legacy served as a guiding light for his own political career. Although Biden took a job at a prestigious Delaware law firm shortly after graduating from law school, he ultimately decided to become a public defender.
“I did it largely because I thought it was something your father would have done,” he told the Kennedys.
Ahead of Biden’s speech, Robert Kennedy said in a social media post Thursday that he hoped his family’s political disagreements could serve as a model for Americans to “restore civility and respect to public discourse,” adding that He believed his family was “united in our love for each other.”
“I heard some of my family members will be supporting President Biden today. I’m glad they’re politically active – it’s a family tradition. We are divided in our opinions but united in our love for one another. I see this as a possibility for America too. Can we disagree without hating our opponents? Can we restore civility and respect in public discourse? I think we can do it,” Kennedy wrote.
He also noted that some of his family members work for his campaign. His campaign manager is Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, his daughter-in-law.
After the speech, the Kennedys will join Biden at a grassroots organizing event with campaign volunteers and local supporters, where he will be introduced by Joe Kennedy III. Family members plan to make campaign phone calls and knock on doors afterward.
This is not the first time Biden has sought to highlight his ties to the Kennedys. He has cited Robert F. Kennedy Sr. as a personal inspiration in his political career. A bust of the former attorney general and senator sits in the Oval Office.
He appointed three members of his family to diplomatic posts within his administration: Caroline Kennedy as ambassador to Australia; Victoria Reggie Kennedy, the widow of the late Senator Ted Kennedy, as ambassador to Austria; and Joe Kennedy III as special envoy to Northern Ireland.
This year, on St. Patrick’s Day, the extended clan was invited to a reception at the White House and posed for photos with Biden in the Rose Garden. And Biden invited Maria Shriver, niece of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, to attend his State of the Union address to highlight his work on women’s health.
In public statements, some members of the Kennedy family have already made clear they support Biden in November. Many have sought to distance themselves from RFK Jr.’s presidential bid.
In an interview with CNN last month, another of RFK Jr.’s sisters, Rory Kennedy, said she feared he could hurt Biden’s chances of defeating Trump.
“I am convinced that this is the most important election of our lifetime and that the stakes are enormous. And I think it will come down to a handful of votes in a handful of states, and I worry that Bobby taking only a certain percentage of the votes from Biden could shift the election and lead to Trump being elected,” she declared.
RFK Jr. sought to downplay an apparent family rift.
“I have a big family, about 105 cousins last time we counted,” he told CNN’s Erin Burnett earlier this month. “I have a big family. I don’t know anyone in America whose family agrees with him on everything.”
Kennedy family members who attended Biden’s event Thursday included Rory Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Joe Kennedy II, Beth Kennedy, Joe Kennedy III, Christopher Kennedy, Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, Vicki Strauss Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Kerry Kennedy Meltzer, Max Meltzer, Ted. Kennedy Jr., Stephen Kennedy Smith, Peter McKelvy and Rebeca McKelvy.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Michael Williams of CNN, Aaron Pellish and Eva McKend contributed to this report.
