Members of the Kennedy family endorsed President Biden for reelection at a campaign event in Philadelphia Thursday, saying his values and “moral leadership” are a reflection of their family’s legacy, in a bid to rebuke Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s independent candidacy for office.
The families of President Kennedy and his brother Robert F. Kennedy appearing at the rally is an important statement for Mr. Biden as he works to keep the third-party candidate from siphoning off voters from his constituency.
“We want to make crystal clear our feeling that the best way to move forward for America is to reelect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to four more years,” said Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and the younger sister of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Ms. Kennedy delivered remarks on behalf of more than a dozen Kennedy family members who stood on stage at the Biden event.
She compared Mr. Biden to her father, saying the president is the true torchbearer of the Kennedy legacy.
“A vote for Joe Biden is a vote for our democracy and our decency. It is a vote for what my father called for his own presidential announcement in 1968, ‘our right to the moral leadership of this planet,’” she said.
Mr. Biden called the introduction “meaningful.”
“What an incredible honor,” he said. “I don’t want to become emotional, but what an incredible honor to have the support of the Kennedy family.”
Also in attendance were Joe Kennedy II and Joe Kennedy III, both former congressmen. Others endorsing Mr. Biden included Ted Kennedy Jr. and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed the criticism from his family in a CNN interview this month.
“I’ve got a big family. I don’t know anybody in America who’s got a family who agrees with them on everything,” he said.
He currently has the support of 11.7% of likely voters, according to a RealClear Politics average of polls. That double-digit standing could swing outcomes in battleground states, a threat the Biden campaign is taking seriously.
The Democratic National Committee recently brought on board a legal team to scrutinize the Kennedy campaign’s efforts to make it onto ballots and swing states, and depicted him as a radical conspiracy theorist who is a tool of the Trump campaign.
Still, the Kennedy name carries a lot of weight in Democratic politics and Mr. Kennedy has portrayed himself as the true heir to the tradition of his father and uncle.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.