More than a dozen members of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s family, including six of his siblings, have supported President Biden. in Philadelphia on Thursdayeven as he pursues an independent bid for Mr. Biden’s job.
“The Kennedy family supports Joe Biden for president,” said Kerry Kennedy, sister of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as she stood alongside the president.
“We want to make clear our sense that the best way forward for America is to re-elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for four more years,” she added.
Kerry Kennedy hailed Mr. Biden as a “hero” and called him a leader like his father, Robert F. Kennedy, who “defended equal justice, human rights and freedom from need and fear – just like President Biden is doing today. »
His father served as attorney general in the administration of John F. Kennedy and was himself a presidential candidate when he was assassinated in 1968.
Speaking on behalf of family members who support Mr. Biden, Kerry Kennedy had harsh words for presumptive Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump.
“I can only imagine how Donald Trump’s lies and outrageous behavior would have horrified my father,” she said, accusing Trump of “running to set us back, attacking the most common rights and freedoms fundamentals that are at the heart of who we are. like Americans.” She accused Trump of wanting to “use his power to punish his enemies, silence his opponents and incite more chaos.”
She did not mention her brother’s presidential candidacy. On Thursday, RFK Jr. qualified for the Michigan ballot as a Natural Law Party candidate, the secretary of state’s office confirmed. He is now on the voting rolls in two states, having also qualified in Utah.
Joseph P. Kennedy II, a former congressman and brother of RFK Jr., responded “Of course” when asked by reporters if he would encourage his brother to drop out of the race.
“We can’t do anything that in any way takes even one vote away from President Biden. You put Kennedy’s name on the ballot and Democrats are going to feel torn. We’re trying to make them understand that this is an issue that they don’t want. I must feel torn,” he told reporters while attending a meeting with Philadelphia voters after the rally. .
During the rally, Mr. Biden called the support of members of the Kennedy family an “incredible honor” and throughout his speech he spoke of what a hero Robert F. Kennedy had been to him. He cited a speech given by Robert F. Kennedy in Indianapolis the night Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
Mr. Biden also mentioned that in the Oval Office he has busts of King and Robert F. Kennedy. “I keep trying to remember what they would do on tough calls,” he said.
He also said he spoke recently with Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert F. Kennedy, to wish her a happy 96th birthday.
“Your father, I never had the opportunity to meet him,” Mr. Biden told the Kennedys, but he recalled a visit by Robert F. Kennedy to Syracuse while he was in law school. “But he inspired me. And his passion and his clarity inspired an entire generation.”
Several members of RFK Jr.’s family have already expressed opposition to their brother’s independent candidacy. When he announced in October that he would abandon his campaign for president as a Democrat and instead run as an independent, four of his siblings — documentarian Rory Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, former Rep. Joe Kennedy II and former Lt. —Maryland Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend — called her decision to oppose Mr. Biden “dangerous for our country.” In a statement at the time, they said: “Bobby may share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment.” The four said of his decision to run as an independent: “We denounce his candidacy and consider it perilous for our country.”
In addition to Kerry Kennedy, RFK Jr.’s siblings Rory Kennedy, Joe Kennedy II, Christopher Kennedy, Maxwell Kennedy and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, as well as several other relatives, endorsed Mr. Biden on Thursday.
Kennedy said in a social media post Thursday morning that he is “glad” his family is politically active, calling it a family tradition. He added that they are “divided in our opinions but united in our love for one another,” adding that this sentiment could also be shared by Americans to “restore civility and respect to public discourse.”
“My campaign, which many in my family work on and support, is about healing America – healing our economy, our chronic disease crisis, our middle class, our environment, and our standing in the world as a nation peaceful.” he said.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Last month, on St. Patrick’s Day, Mr. Biden gave members of the extended Kennedy family a private tour of the Oval Office and West Wing and celebrated with them and hundreds of guests at a Christmas reception. Members of the Kennedy family have posted photos with the president, signaling that they are with him rather than those of the Kennedys running against him.
Several Kennedys joined Mr. Biden for a grassroots organizing event and helped with voter outreach, according to the campaign.
Gabrielle Ake, Kristin Brown, Allison Novelo and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
