The Kennedy family has hit out at their sibling Robert F Kennedy Jr for endorsing Donald Trump in the US presidential race, calling it a “betrayal” of their values.
Mr Kennedy, also known as RFK Jr, announced he was suspending his independent campaign for the presidency to lend his support to the Republican candidate in certain states.
Speaking at a news conference, Mr Kennedy said the Democratic Party was no longer “champions of the constitution” and had departed “dramatically” from the “core values” he grew up with.
Mr Kennedy is the nephew of former Democratic US president John F Kennedy and the son of former US attorney general Robert F Kennedy, JFK’s brother, who later launched his own presidential bid.
Both men were assassinated, in 1963 and 1968. RFK Jr was 14 when his father was killed.
In response to RFK Jr’s announcement, his brothers and sisters shared a statement, saying: “We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise and national pride.
“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.”
Image: Kamala Harris addressing the DNC this week. Pic: AP
‘In an honest system, I would have won’
RFK Jr hit out at the media and the Democrats during his announcement, while saying his campaign team had “pulled off a miracle” by making him a presidential candidate.
“You showed everyone democracy is still possible here,” he said. “Today I’m here to tell you I will not allow your efforts to go to waste.”
Mr Kennedy added he believed that in an “honest system” he would have won the election.
He criticised the Democratic Party, saying it had waged “legal warfare” against him and Mr Trump, who is running against vice president Kamala Harris to be elected in the presidential election on 5 November.
During his speech, Mr Kennedy also took aim at Ms Harris, who officially accepted her Democratic nomination yesterday, arguing that she had ducked scrutiny and interviews.
He also said of Democrats: “Who needs a policy when you have Trump to hate?”
According to Sky News’ partner network NBC, Mr Kennedy will be speaking at a Trump rally later today.
Image: Mr Kennedy is expected to publicly endorse Donald Trump for president. Pic: Reuters
Reports of Mr Kennedy’s decision emerged earlier in court documents filed by the 70-year-old’s campaign team.
A Pennsylvania court filing asked to remove him from the state’s ballot, according to the AP.
And on Thursday, Arizona officials said Mr Kennedy filed paperwork to remove himself from the presidential ballot there.
Image: Pic: Reuters
Anti-vax views and turn against Democrats
Despite his family’s history with the Democratic Party, RFK Jr was running as an independent, after leaving the Democrats in October.
Mr Kennedy has made a name for himself as an anti-vaxxer during the pandemic – and beforehand.
As well as sharing disinformation online, Mr Kennedy became a regular on the anti-mandate rally circuit during the coronavirus response.
At one event, he compared the US government’s use of vaccine mandates to laws in Nazi Germany.
“Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could cross the Alps into Switzerland, you could hide in an attic like Anne Frank did,” he told the crowd at a march in January 2022.
“Today, the mechanisms are being put in place that will make it so none of us can run, and none of us can hide.”
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