President Joe Biden on Thursday rounded out a three-day swing through Pennsylvania by accepting the official nod from members of the Kennedy family – an endorsement from one of the most illustrious families in American politics that has taken on new meaning as one of their own challenges the Democratic incumbent in November.
Biden was joined by more than a dozen members of the Kennedy clan for the event in Philadelphia on Thursday.
Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of former U.S. Attorney General and New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and niece of former President John F. Kennedy, formally delivered the family's endorsement of Biden over her brother, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“President Biden has been a champion for all the rights and freedoms that my father and uncle stood for,” Kerry Kennedy said. “That's why nearly every single grandchild of Joe and Rose Kennedy supports Joe Biden.”
“That's right, that's right – the Kennedy family endorses Joe Biden for President,” she declared.
Biden, who has a bust of Robert F. Kennedy in the Oval Office and spoke about the former attorney general’s influence on his decision to become a public defender, referred to receiving the family’s nod as an “incredible honor.”
“That was the most meaningful introduction I've ever gotten in my life,” he said of Kerry Kennedy’s remarks, adding the caveat of besides when his sister introduced him. The president noted he didn’t want to get emotional.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – who has become known as a leading voice in the anti-vaccine movement – launched his bid for the White House nearly a year ago to the day. Originally running as a Democrat, he switched to run as an independent in October. While considered a long shot, his candidacy has sparked a rash of concerns among some in Democratic circles that he could take votes away from Biden in November. There has been debate, however, about whether his candidacy is more of a threat to Biden or GOP candidate former President Donald Trump.
While not a surprise, the official nod from 15 members of the broader Kennedy family – and Biden’s choice to highlight the endorsement with a formal event – could be seen as another sign that the Biden camp and Kennedy clan are not taking any chances by simply brushing off RFK Jr.’s bid.
In another sign last month, a swath of the family attended Biden’s St. Patrick’s Day reception at the White House in March, posing for a picture with the commander in chief in the Rose Garden.
While Kerry Kennedy did not explicitly name her brother on Thursday, she noted that “there are only two candidates with any chance of winning the presidency,” going on to talk about the leadership four years ago under Trump compared to Biden’s time in office.
“We want to make crystal clear our feeling that the best way forward for America is to reelect Joe Biden and [Vice President] Kamala Harris to four more years,” she said.
For his part, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a post on X, formerly Twitter, wrote that he had heard that some of his family would be throwing their weight behind Biden today.
“I am pleased they are politically active — it’s a family tradition,” he wrote. “We are divided in our opinions but united in our love for each other.”
In an interview on CNN earlier this month, the indpendent candidate made the case that Biden was a bigger threat to democracy than Trump.
In his remarks on Thursday, Biden, who stopped in his hometown of Scranton on Tuesday and Pittsburgh on Wednesday, framed the election, as he often does, as being about “two fundamentally different visions for America.” He asserted his vision is one of “hope and optimism,” going on to add “optimism like Bobby Kennedy embodied.”