CNN
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President Joe Biden will obtain the formal endorsement of greater than a dozen members of the prolonged Kennedy household on Thursday, based on the Biden marketing campaign, aiming to harness the legacy of a storied Democratic household whereas implicitly underscoring their near-universal rejection of a third-party challenge mounted by certainly one of their very own, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The broader Kennedy household has largely shunned RFK Jr.’s marketing campaign, calling it “dangerous,” even because the candidate himself appears to capitalize on his last name and household historical past.
However Thursday’s occasion in Philadelphia nonetheless highlights the risk Kennedy poses to Biden as he seeks to win reelection in a race the place even a low-performing third-party candidate might act as a spoiler.
In a speech introducing Biden, Kerry Kennedy — certainly one of RFK Jr.’s sisters who has helped lead her household’s organizing efforts — will declare the president “a champion for all of the rights and freedoms that my father and uncles stood for” whereas additionally warning of threats posed by Donald Trump to democracy and freedom.
“Donald Trump is operating to take us backwards, attacking probably the most primary rights and freedoms which might be core to who we’re as People,” she’ll say, based on excerpts of her speech shared by the Biden marketing campaign. “He has mentioned he shall be a dictator on day one, even saying he needs to attempt to droop the Structure.”
“I can solely think about how Donald Trump’s outrageous lies and conduct would have horrified my father, Robert F. Kennedy, who proudly served as Legal professional Basic of the US, and honored his pledge to uphold the legislation and defend the nation,” Kennedy plans to say.
Biden’s reelection marketing campaign, she’ll say, ought to “unite not solely Democrats, however all People, together with Republicans, and independents.”
She and Biden shall be joined by John White Jr., a civil rights chief in Philadelphia, who will focus on how the Kennedy household affected his public service work.
After the speech, the Kennedys will be part of Biden at a grassroots organizing occasion with marketing campaign volunteers and native supporters, the place he’ll be launched by Joe Kennedy III. Members of the family plan to make marketing campaign cellphone calls and knock on doorways afterward.
It’s not the primary time Biden has sought to emphasise his ties to the Kennedys. He has cited Robert F. Kennedy Sr. as a private inspiration in his political profession. A bust of the previous legal professional basic and senator sits within the Oval Workplace.
He has appointed three members of the family to diplomatic posts in his administration: Caroline Kennedy as ambassador to Australia; Victoria Reggie Kennedy, the widow of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, as ambassador to Austria; and Joe Kennedy III as particular envoy to Northern Eire.
On St. Patrick’s Day this 12 months, the prolonged clan was invited for a reception on the White Home and posed for images with Biden within the Rose Backyard. And Biden invited Maria Shriver, a niece of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, to attend his State of the Union handle to spotlight her work on girls’s well being.
In public statements, some members of the Kennedy household have already made clear they’re backing Biden in November. Many have sought to distance themselves from RFK Jr.’s presidential bid.
In a CNN interview final month, one other sister of RFK Jr., Rory Kennedy, mentioned she’s involved he might undermine Biden’s possibilities of defeating Trump.
“I really feel strongly that that is crucial election of our lifetime and there’s a lot at stake. And I do assume it’s gonna come right down to a handful of votes in a handful of states, and I do fear that Bobby simply taking some proportion of votes from Biden might shift the election and result in Trump’s election,” she mentioned.
RFK Jr. has sought to downplay an obvious household rift.
“I’ve a giant household, about 105 cousins on the final time we counted,” he instructed CNN’s Erin Burnett earlier this month. “I’ve a giant household. I don’t know anyone in America who’s bought a household who agrees with him on all the pieces.”
The Kennedy members of the family attending Biden’s occasion Thursday embody Rory Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Joe Kennedy II, Beth Kennedy, Joe Kennedy III, Christopher Kennedy, Maxwell Kennedy Sr., Vicki Strauss Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Kerry Kennedy Meltzer, Max Meltzer, Ted Kennedy Jr., Stephen Kennedy Smith, Peter McKelvy and Rebeca McKelvy.