Robert F. Kennedy Jr., bearing the name of an illustrious political dynasty, and benefiting from its cachet, is running for President.
As he campaigns to win the primary election, he spreads even more widely the conspiracy theories that have become his hallmark: that S.S.R.I.s like Prozac might be the reason for school shootings, that drugs known as poppers helped cause the AIDS epidemic, and how “toxic chemicals” might contribute to “sexual dysphoria” in children. Or theories about his pet obsession: Covid vaccines. Recently, he suggested that the COVID-19 virus was “a genetically engineered bioweapon that may have been ‘ethnically targeted’ to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.”
A QAnon follower who has questioned whether the 9/11 planes ever flew into the Pentagon, he has much in common with the most delusional right-wing fringe of the GOP. Although a Democrat, his bid for the presidency is getting a surprising amount of support from the MAGA corner: Steve Bannon, Jack Dorsey, and Tucker Carlson.
Yet he proudly declares that his politics are firmly in line with those of his father and uncles–public service based on courage, service, inclusion–and he is not shy in trading on his name. In short, Kennedy is riding the coattails of his celebrated family, embodying a political dynasty that up until his sortie into “dark” politics, was respected and possibly even loved by many who associated it with the near-legendary figures of his uncle, John, his father Robert or his uncle Ted.
But Bobby Kennedy, Jr. is made of different stuff. The Wall Street Journal has called his campaign “a mix of nostalgia and conspiracy theories.”
Now the Kennedys have had enough of what they see as an embarrassing exploitation of the family name and they want the world to know they do not share the crazed relative’s delusions.
Days ago, Caroline Kennedy’s son, Jack Schlossberg, posted a video on Instagram criticizing his cousin’s presidential candidacy — and strongly endorsing incumbent President Joe Biden as the person to carry on his grandfather’s legacy.
“Hi, I’m Jack Schlossberg and I have something to say,” the 30-year-old attorney said, addressing the camera directly. “President John F. Kennedy is my grandfather, and his legacy is important. It’s about a lot more than Camelot and conspiracy theories. It’s about public service and courage. It’s about civil rights, the Cuban missile crisis, and landing a man on the moon. Joe Biden shares my father’s vision for America, that we do things not because they are easy, but because they are hard. And he is in the middle of becoming the greatest progressive president we’ve ever had.”
JFK’s only grandson continued with a full-throated endorsement of Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee and a list of his accomplishments.
“Under Biden, we’ve added 13 million jobs. Unemployment is at its lowest in 60 years. Biden passed the largest investment in infrastructure since The New Deal. And the largest investment in green energy ever. He’s appointed more federal judges than any president since my grandfather. He ended our longest war. He ended the COVID pandemic. And he ended Donald Trump,” Schlossberg said.
“These are the issues that matter,” he continued, “and if my cousin, Bobby Kennedy Jr., cared about any of them, he would support Joe Biden, too. Instead, he’s trading in on Camelot, celebrity, conspiracy theories, and conflict for personal gain and fame.”
Bobby’s sister Kerry has been just as adamant in her rejection of any link to Bobby. “I STRONGLY condemn my brother’s deplorable and untruthful remarks last week about Covid being engineered for ethnic targeting,” Kerry, 63, wrote on Twitter.
“[Bobby’s] statements do not represent what I believe or what Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights stand for, with our 50+-year track record of protecting rights and standing against racism and all forms of discrimination,” she added.
Still, Bobby is convinced that he is the worthy successor to what has come to be known as “Kennedy politics,” progressive policies on issues such as civil rights, healthcare, and education.
In his case, these issues may come with a bitter twist.
