Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Family Hits Him Where It Hurts In Response To Independent 2024 Run

The 2024 presidential election may be a replay of 2020, with Donald Trump as the Republican candidate and Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate. But before we get to that matchup, as of October 2023, Trump has to defeat the 11 other candidates currently running for the Republican presidential nomination, though he is currently the clear favorite despite his four criminal indictments and ongoing civil trial. 

As for Biden, he has one less challenger for the Democratic nomination. As of October 9, 2023, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is no longer running to be the Democratic candidate for president. Instead, he is running as an independent candidate. It will take quite a lot for Kennedy to win the election as an independent, and, we already know that he can't count on the support of his family. A number of Kennedy family members confirmed that they were not in support of RFK Jr.'s candidacy when it was for the Democratic nominee, including John F. Kennedy's grandson Jack Schlossberg, who had strong feelings against RFK Jr.'s presidential campaign. The lack of political support from the Kennedy family for one of their own has not changed with Kennedy's switch to an independent run; in fact, it seems like it has only worsened the already complicated dynamics between Kennedy and his family. Kerry Kennedy, one of Kennedy's 10 siblings, posted a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling his candidacy "dangerous to our country."

Kerry Kennedy was joined by three other siblings — Rory Kennedy, Hon. Joseph P. Kennedy III, and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend — in signing the statement decrying Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s bid for the presidency as an independent candidate. Their statement, posted on X, included a warning to potential voters about looking at just Kennedy's last name as a qualification for president: "Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment. [...] We denounce his candidacy and believe it to be perilous for our country."

An independent run for the presidency has more potential to have an impact on the election than a Democratic primary attempt that he most certainly would have lost; even if Kennedy isn't elected, he'll take votes that would otherwise likely have gone to Trump or Biden. In an Ipsos/Reuters poll in early October, 14% of those polled said they'd vote for Kennedy if he was running against Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Kennedy seems to be known as much for being a part of the famous Kennedy political family as he is for the conspiracy theories and divisive statements that he's continued to voice during his presidential campaign.