More than a dozen members of the Kennedy family will endorse President Joe Biden for a second term Thursday, passing over family member Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Biden campaign announced.
The Kennedy family has stepped up its involvement in the Biden campaign, working to lift Biden’s odds as Democrats worry that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s bid could pose a spoiler risk that could hand the election to former President Donald Trump.
Former Rep. Joseph Kennedy III, the independent candidate’s nephew, said in an interview that he believes his uncle’s “candidacy poses a threat to the country that I love and the values that I hold.”
“I believe that his candidacy is likely to divert support away from President Biden and end up increasing support for Donald Trump,” he said.
The 15 Kennedy family members making the endorsement include the candidate’s siblings Rory Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Joseph Kennedy II, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Christopher Kennedy and Maxwell Kennedy Sr.
This endorsement has been “months in the making,” according to a source familiar with the Biden campaign’s planning, who added that family members came forward to “do something to show they’re united by the president.”
Joseph Kennedy III, who serves in the Biden administration as special envoy to Northern Ireland, said the family endorsement is intended to blunt third-party support that could “siphon votes” from the president.
“We want to be able to make that case not just for the risk that Bobby’s candidacy shows, but because of who Joe Biden is, what Joe Biden has done and what Joe Biden will do with four more years in office,” he said.
Joseph Kennedy III acknowledged “challenging” feelings involved in the endorsement, while noting that “it’s something we believe has to be done.”
“Bobby knows that we stand by him as a family member, while also being able to clearly communicate that his candidacy poses a risk to the country that we love,” the younger Kennedy said.
The family members will formally make their endorsement at an event in Philadelphia with a speech by the candidate’s sister Kerry.
“We can say today, with no less urgency, that our rights and freedoms are once again in peril,” she will say, according to prepared remarks sent by the Biden campaign. “That is why we all need to come together in a campaign that should unite not only Democrats, but all Americans, including Republicans, and independents, who believe in what Lincoln called the better angels of our nature.”
According to excerpts of prepared remarks, Kerry Kennedy will directly attack Trump and invoke her father, Robert F. Kennedy. The prepared remarks do not appear to mention her brother, though only an excerpt of the prepared speech was shared with news outlets.
“I can only imagine how Donald Trump’s outrageous lies and behavior would have horrified my father, Robert F. Kennedy, who proudly served as Attorney General of the United States, and honored his pledge to uphold the law and protect the country,” she will say before going on to compare Biden to her father.
After the speech, Biden and members of the Kennedy family will hold a campaign event, where Biden will be introduced by Joseph Kennedy III.
Family members will also make calls to voters and knock on doors, according to the campaign.
Members of the Kennedy family have praised Biden and boosted images of family members posing with him, such as a St. Patrick’s Day photo depicting three generations of the Kennedy family with him.
Likewise, Biden describes Robert F. Kennedy as a political hero “who inspired him early in his career to leave corporate law to become a public defender, and then go on to run for public office,” the Biden campaign said. Biden also has a bust of the elder Kennedy, who was attorney general in his brother John’s administration, in the Oval Office.
Some members of the family have been more direct in their criticism of Robert Kennedy Jr., such as when Stephen Kennedy Smith referred on social media to what he called his cousin’s “misguided stands on issues, his poor judgement, and tenuous relationship with the truth.”
Rory Kennedy said in an MSNBC interview this month: “I love my brother, and it pains me to come out against him. But I am very concerned with the stakes in this election.”
“I’m concerned that his campaign and running for office as an independent is going to lead to Trump’s election,” she added.
Robert Kennedy Jr. responded to family members’ criticism of his campaign this month, telling CNN’s Erin Burnett, “I don’t know anybody in America who’s got a family who agrees with them on everything.” He has reiterated that he loves his family and that he understands “why they don’t like me running.”
The campaign is intentionally keeping the event to immediate family members, such as several of the candidate’s siblings, a member of the large political family said.
“This event is only going to involve the immediate RFK family so that Bobby can’t fall back on his claim that he ‘has big family … and we aren’t all going to agree,’” the family member said, referring to how RFK Jr. has previously deflected questions about his family’s criticisms of his campaign.
“The message is crystal clear that Bobby’s own brothers and sisters are endorsing the president,” the person added.
Joseph Kennedy III was sympathetic to the security concerns that his uncle has raised regarding his denied request for Secret Service protection. The younger Kennedy said he was not aware of the specific threat assessments, but “I would want my uncle, just like anybody else that’s running for office, to make sure that they have the safety and security that they need to be able to run a campaign.”
Polling indicates that Biden and Trump are headed for a neck-and-neck race — and a high-profile third-party candidate, such as Kennedy, could further shake up both candidates’ prospects. If the presidential election were held in March and the candidates were Biden, Trump and Kennedy, Kennedy would get about 16% of the vote, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
