Kennedy family to officially endorse Biden at campaign event in latest snub to RFK Jr

At least 15 members of the Kennedy family will officially endorse President Joe Biden for re-election on Thursday in the latest snub to independent candidate, Robert F Kennedy Jr.

The Kennedy family has mostly rejected the insurgent campaign by the environmental lawyer and vaccine skeptic, and will now officially back Mr Biden, who’s only the second Catholic president, John F Kennedy being the first.

The endorsement will come at a campaign event in Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon as polling between Mr Biden and former President Donald Trump tightens.

A third-party candidate with the name recognition of a Kennedy could become a spoiler for Mr Biden as RFK Jr may pull away just enough votes for Mr Trump to be victorious in battleground states, and allow him to win the electoral college.

In a speech shared with media outlets ahead of time by the Biden campaign, Kerry Kennedy, the sister of the third-party candidate, will say that backing Mr Biden “is a vote to save our democracy and our decency”.

Meanwhile, she’ll slam Mr Trump as a candidate “running to take us backwards, attacking the most basic rights and freedoms that are core to who we are as Americans”.

“I can only imagine how Donald Trump’s outrageous lies and behaviour would have horrified my father, Robert F Kennedy, who proudly served as Attorney General of the United States, and honoured his pledge to uphold the law and protect the country,” Kennedy will say in her speech.

“Daddy stood for equal justice, human rights and freedom from want and fear. Just as President Biden does today,” she will add.

Robert F Kennedy served as his brother’s attorney general, and later as a New York Senator. He was assassinated while running for the Democratic nomination in 1968, five years after the assassination of his brother.

Last month, more than 30 members of the Kennedy family attended the White House St Patrick’s Day celebration where they took photos with Mr Biden.

Both Republicans and Democrats are concerned that with an electorate less-than-enthused about the current candidates, Mr Kennedy may be able to grab a small but significant number of votes from them which could be decisive in November.

After the endorsement, Mr Biden and the Kennedys are set to meet supporters at a campaign event and some members of the family are planning on making calls and knocking on doors in support of Mr Biden.

A number of family members are not choosing to endorse Mr Biden, such as Caroline Kennedy, the US ambassador to Australia, and Maria Shriver, a nonprofit leader, with the Biden campaign saying it was because of their nonpolitical engagements.

Kerry Kennedy appeared on MSNBC on Thursday morning, saying, “This campaign about ... about democracy. It is about freedom. It is about the people of America, not only our country but all around the world. And that's why it's so, so important for every single person to come out and vote ... If everybody votes, Biden wins. But right now, this is going to be a very, very close election”.

“We can't have people voting for third parties no matter who they are,” she added. “In every family ... Americans have diverse views. You have to love your family members. You don't have to like them. I love Bobby, and I like Bobby. But this campaign is not about Bobby, this campaign is about Trump versus Biden. And what we need to do today is focus on Biden winning.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report