Additional Coverage:
- RFK Jr., Bobby Kennedy was everything you aren’t. You’ve betrayed your father’s legacy. (newsbreak.com)
Why, Bobby Jr.?
Kennedy scholars everywhere are perplexed, especially given how deeply you revered your father, Robert F. Kennedy.
Your father cherished three pillars: his dedication to the Democratic Party, the Kennedy legacy, and his faith. Yet, it appears you’ve walked away from all of these.
What’s particularly shocking is not only your support of a Republican presidential candidate but your endorsement of Donald Trump—a figure who has harshly criticized the Kennedys. This move has left many bewildered.
What about the younger RFK Jr., the passionate environmentalist? From childhood, nature was your arena, Bobby.
You once nurtured a red-tailed hawk named Morgan le Fay and turned your family’s Hickory Hill compound into a haven for all sorts of creatures. How does that square with backing a former president who dismisses climate change as a “hoax” and promotes policies like “drill, baby, drill”?
This alignment with Donald Trump, JD Vance, and yourself is quite the odd grouping to say the least.
Perhaps your commitment to environmental and animal welfare was not as strong as it seemed. There was that incident recounted by New Yorker writer Clare Malone, where in 2014 you picked up a deceased bear cub, staged an elaborate scene in Central Park, and even discussed it in a video with Roseanne Barr. More recently, calls for a government probe have emerged after allegations that you gruesomely handled a dead whale in 2012.
And now, you’ve pivoted dramatically rightward. You’ve gone beyond even Trump in rejecting vaccine efficacy, proposing tighter immigration controls, and cutting support to Ukrainians—a stark contrast to the values of political freedom heralded by your father. Your current stance also diverges sharply from the Democratic legacy reflective of RFK’s 1968 presidential theme of racial harmony and social justice—a legacy that inspired many future Democratic leaders.
RFK Sr. was a uniter who sought to bridge societal divides—quite the opposite of the divisive paths you seem to be treading. Is it a desperate grab for attention or relevance? Or possibly, an attempt to carve out your own path distinct from the family legacy?
No matter the reason, as your siblings articulated, your actions represent a profound departure from the Kennedy values, and it’s truly disappointing.
Journalist Larry Tye, who has explored the life of Bobby Kennedy in depth, reflects on these recent developments as a sad chapter in an otherwise storied legacy.