Kerry Kennedy Leads Campaign Against Brother RFK Jr.’s White House Bid

Kerry Kennedy, the younger sister of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is leading the effort against her brother’s independent campaign for president in the 2024 election.

At a recent event for President Joe Biden, Kerry declared, “Nearly every single grandchild of Joe and Rose Kennedy supports Joe Biden…That’s right: The Kennedy family endorses Joe Biden for president.”

This is not the first time Kerry has distanced her family from her brother, who emerged as a vocal skeptic of Covid-19 vaccines and a peddler of conspiracy theories around their father’s assassination, as she fears her brother’s campaign could threaten Biden’s re-election and tarnish the Kennedy name. “I love Bobby,” she said in a recent interview. “It’s heart-wrenching to be in this position.”

As the president of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization, Kerry has championed causes that reflected her father’s work, which include international human rights, fighting disparities in healthcare and advocating for immigrants, and she fears that her brother’s divisive campaign could undermine the work of the organization and tarnish the family’s legacy.

Kerry has said that she still saw her brother at family events.

“Bobby was up to Cape [Cod] a few times last summer,” she said. “We were both in Aspen on vacation and sitting around the lunch table. We send texts — we have a family text exchange — so there’s back and forth. But he’s not calling me for my advice.”

While some of the family, like Kerry, have actively campaigned against Kennedy, others, like Douglas H. Kennedy, have chosen to stay out of the fray, and cited their own professional obligations.

“I think the mistake the media makes is to think that [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]’s appeal to people is solely based on his relationship to our family…I believe his followers are unaffected by his siblings’ or cousins’ concerns,” Douglas said. “His supporters believe in his message. I don’t think people coming out against him will have a great effect on that support.”

However, the Biden campaign sees the political family as a powerful asset in swaying the electorate and plans to deploy Kerry and other family members in key battleground states, in hopes that the Kennedy name will resonate with voters.

“We’re honored to have the Kennedys’ support, and we look forward to working with them to spread the message on the campaign trail about how the president is carrying on the Kennedy legacy,” said Lauren Hitt, a Biden campaign spokeswoman.

Kennedy recently revealed that part of his brain had been eaten by “a worm”