Members of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s extended family called it a “betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear” on Friday after the independent presidential candidate announced that he was endorsing former President Trump.
“We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future,” Kerry Kennedy wrote in a statement alongside four of Kennedy’s siblings. “We believe in Harris and Walz. Our brother Bobby’s decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear.”
“It is a sad ending to a sad story,” they added.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that he was suspending his independent campaign and would remove his name from the ballot in swing states like Pennsylvania and Arizona. His name will remain on the ballot in states that are solidly Democratic or Republican.
He also announced that he was endorsing Trump, a move that had been expected for much of the week. On Wednesday, Kennedy announced he would address the nation Friday about the future of his candidacy.
During his Friday address, Kennedy spent most of his time blasting Democrats and the media for “not giving him a fair shake.”
“In my heart, I no longer believe that I have a realistic path to electoral victory in the face of this relentless, systematic censorship and media control,” he said during Friday’s press conference. “So I cannot in good conscience ask my staff and volunteers to keep working their long hours, or ask my donor to keep giving when I cannot honestly, tell them, that I have a real path to the White House.”
Since Wednesday, Kennedy has moved to remove his name from the Arizona and Pennsylvania ballots, and sources close to Kennedy indicated that he is negotiating with the Trump campaign for a spot in the potential second Trump administration.
Kerry Kennedy, who leads the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization, wrote the statement alongside four siblings — Courtney Kennedy, Chris Kennedy, Rory Kennedy and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D).
RFK Jr. is the third-eldest child of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. The Kennedy family has been a mainstay of the Democratic Party since John F. Kennedy became president.
The family has regularly dismissed RFK Jr.’s Independent candidacy since he first launched his presidential bid last year. Before he launched his campaign for president, family members also penned a column denouncing his anti-vaccination positions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment. Today’s announcement is deeply saddening for us. We denounce his candidacy and believe it to be perilous for our country,” some of Kennedy’s siblings wrote last year.
After he dropped out, other members of the Kennedy family also weighed in.
“Never been less surprised in my life. Been saying it for over a year — RFKjr is for sale, works for Trump. Bedfellows and loving it,” Jack Schlossberg, former President Kennedy’s grandson who spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, wrote on social platform X. “Kamala Harris is for the people — the easiest decision of all time just got easier.”
