They say blood is thicker than water. That, however, is not the case in politics.
At least 15 members of the Kennedy family will announce their support for President Joe Biden over family member Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running for president as an independent.
According to the HuffPost, Robert Kennedy’s sister Kerry Kennedy will make the endorsements, Biden’s campaign announced.
In an example of timing is everything, the endorsements comes more than six months from Election Day on Nov. 5 and may indicate how Biden’s campaign views a Robert Kennedy challenge, per the outlet.
“Both Democrats and Republicans worry that Kennedy’s candidacy could spoil their respective presumptive nominee’s campaigns,” the HuffPost reported.
Thursday’s event ends a three-day swing for Biden in Pennsylvania, a battleground state. It’s also to put pressure on his GOP opponent, former President Donald Trump.
“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,” Kerry Kennedy will say, according to prepared remarks. “Daddy stood for equal justice, human rights and freedom from want and fear. Just as President Biden does today.”
For any Kennedy to endorse a Democratic candidate should come as no surprise since the family has a long history of aligning with Democrats.
Some members of the “family were not endorsing (Biden), including U.S. Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy and nonprofit leader Maria Shriver, which the Biden campaign said was due to their nonpolitical professional roles,” per the outlet.
Robert Kennedy has said he and his family differ on several issues.
Things came to a head when a Super PAC supporting his campaign did a TV ad during the Super Bowl.
The ad used images from John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential run.
Robert Kennedy apologized, saying he was sorry if the spot “caused anyone in my family pain.”
While the Democrats are leery of a Robert Kennedy run for the White House, so are the Republicans.
Trump campaign “is fearful that he could also pull the GOP voters they need to defeat Biden in November,” the HuffPost reported.