Former Rep. Joseph Kennedy III told NBC News in an exclusive interview that he thinks his the candidacy of his uncle, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., “poses a threat to the country that I love.”
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.
