Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. downplayed the significance of his relatives meeting with President Biden on St. Patrick’s Day, saying the viral image represents only a “very small” part of his extended family.
NewsNation host Chris Cuomo pressed Kennedy on Monday about his family’s support for Biden, particularly pointing to the recent photograph of more than three dozen relatives posing with the incumbent in front of the White House.
“President Biden, you make the world better,” Kerry Kennedy, the candidate’s sister, posted on X, formerly Twitter, alongside the picture.
“Here is a lot of your family, OK, gathered around Joe Biden. It is St. Patty’s Day. They all put out messages that are all about the same thing, which is, ‘Go, Joe! We support you,” Cuomo said, before asking, “What does it mean when the people who know you best say Joe Biden is better than their own brother, uncle, cousin?”
Kennedy replied, “Although that looks like a big crowd of people, it is a very small percentage of my family.”
“Last July 4, I think there was 105 people at the Cape, and many other family members are working for my campaign and many other family members supportive,” the candidate, who is the nephew of the late former President Kennedy, added.
He acknowledged the current president is an “old friend of my family” and that many family members have worked for the Biden administration and supported his campaign.
Kennedy said he disagrees with Biden and some family members on a range of issues, but he was glad to see his family happy in the photograph.
“We can disagree with each other in a friendly way and still love each other,” he said.
“They look very happy in that photograph and, you know, it’s very exhilarating,” Kennedy added. “It’s intoxicating being in the White House, and I’m glad I got to — I played a role, I think, in facilitating that visit to the White House and bringing them all such happiness, so I’m happy about that.”
The Hill has reached out to the White House for confirmation about Kennedy’s role in facilitating the meeting.
Kennedy has frequently been disavowed by some family members as he continues his bid for the White House. An activist and lawyer, he has raised conspiracy theories about vaccines.
Kennedy, who originally launched a campaign on the Democratic ticket, was attacked publicly by his family when he said he would run as a third-party candidate. Democrats, too, have expressed concerns that his candidacy would pull votes away from Biden in November and help elect former President Trump.
“The decision of our brother Bobby to run as a third-party candidate against Joe Biden is dangerous to our country,” a statement signed by four of his siblings — former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D), former Rep. Joseph Kennedy II (D-Mass.), Rory Kennedy and Kerry Kennedy — reads, following the candidate’s announcement.
“Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment,” they wrote. “Today’s announcement is deeply saddening for us. We denounce his candidacy and believe it to be perilous for our country.”