President Joe Biden is expected to receive support from members of the Kennedy family during a visit to Philadelphia on Thursday, a significant show of support from a relative of one of his leading opponents and a bid to reunite the coalition. This marked the end of a three-day campaign in Pennsylvania that spanned seven months. Before the general election.
At this afternoon's event at a recreation center in North Philadelphia, 15 members of the Kennedy family will endorse Biden over his relative Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running for president as an independent. express that.
The Biden campaign announced that Kerry Kennedy, the presidential candidate's sister, the daughter of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and the niece of former President John F. Kennedy, will endorse the candidate.
Kerry Kennedy: “You can only imagine how Donald Trump's outrageous lies and actions shocked my father, Robert F. Kennedy, who proudly served as Attorney General of the United States and kept his promise to uphold the law and protect our country.'' “I can't,” he would say according to his prepared statement. “Papa stood for equal justice, human rights, and freedom from want and fear, just as President Biden does today.”
RFK's daughter Rory Kennedy and RFK's grandson Joe Kennedy III will also appear at the endorsement event, along with about a dozen other members of the Kennedy family.
Even before announcing their official support, the Kennedys had expressed their support for Biden in photos taken at the White House on St. Patrick's Day and in comments made by family members about the campaign.
Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy is a concern for Biden, who fears he could siphon votes and help Trump.
But the event in Philadelphia marked three consecutive days of campaigning here, first in Scranton and then Pittsburgh, as former President Donald Trump spent a week at a criminal trial in Manhattan. The aim is to further boost Mr. Biden.
After the endorsement event, Biden and the Kennedy family will join campaign volunteers and supporters by making phone calls and knocking on doors.
In Pennsylvania, Mr. Kennedy's approval ratings have consistently been between 7% and 9%, a difference that could influence the winner in a state where Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump are closely contested. In the latest Franklin Marshall poll of the state, Biden had the support of 42% of respondents, Trump 40%, Kennedy 9% and Green Party candidate Jill Stein 3%. Ta.
The Democratic National Committee has hired a communications team to counter the claims of third-party candidates, led by Kennedy. The DNC also recently accused Kennedy's campaign of working too closely with an affiliated super PAC to get Kennedy's name on presidential ballots in Arizona, Illinois and Michigan. I filed a complaint with the association.
Mr. Kennedy is also being watched cautiously by the Trump campaign, which worries that Mr. Kennedy could attract the Republican voters needed to defeat Mr. Biden in November. President Trump released a recent video in which he said, “If I was a Democrat, I would vote for RFK Jr. over Biden every time,” but that President Kennedy is more “radical leftist” than President Kennedy. He has occasionally criticized President Kennedy, suggesting that the current president.
The Kennedys were joined at the event by former Pennsylvania congressman and longtime civil rights leader John White Jr., who spoke about the Kennedy family's influence on public service and President Biden's civil rights leadership. He plans to speak. campaign.
Biden has long cited the Kennedy family as influencing his decision to run for public office. He has a bust of Robert F. Kennedy in the Oval Office and often describes RFK. as one of his political heroes.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
