Source: Politics<\/p>\n
CHICAGO \u2014 Chris Kennedy expects Thanksgiving might not be so awkward this year now that his older brother, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is no longer running for president as a Democrat.<\/p>\n
Robert’s announcement earlier this week that he’s taking his bid outside the party structure could be damaging to either President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump. But Republicans appear to be the most nervous. The Republican National Committee came out of the gate with negative statements, and the once-glowing Fox News coverage Robert used to receive has turned far more critical.<\/p>\n
And for at least one other member of the Kennedy family, it’s a relief.<\/p>\n
Robert\u2019s presidential aspirations have roiled the Kennedy family. Ahead of his brother\u2019s announcement in April, Chris said in an interview with POLITICO there was \u201crobust intra-family dialogue\u201d about Robert running. \u201cAll of us shared with him our candid thoughts. It\u2019s what a big Irish Catholic family will do.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Kennedys, who have one of the most prominent names in Democratic politics, didn’t leave it there. Conversations urging him to drop out continued. Chris said members of the family confronted him at large family events at Hyannis Port and in Cape Cod. They brought it up with him over text chains and in Zoom meetings. \u201cNone of us like conflict among ourselves,\u201d Chris said, but when they do, \u201cit\u2019s full contact.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert\u2019s siblings have spent months in no uncertain terms trying to get their brother out of the race. But ultimately, Chris said, \u201cIt was his decision.\u201d Robert Kennedy Jr.\u2019s campaign did not return a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Biden was never in danger of losing the nomination, but Robert’s candidacy proved to be something of an embarrassment for Democrats. Robert, a longtime environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist, seemed to be drawing a protest vote from Democrats, suggesting that Biden was weak going into a potential rematch with Trump.<\/p>\n
But in Kennedy’s pivot to an independent, early polling seems to suggest<\/a> that the anti-vaccine sentiments he espouses may be drawing in more Republicans than Democrats.<\/p>\n Chris thinks there\u2019s something to the argument. \u201cWith Bobby no longer running in the Democratic Party, that’s taken a lot of pressure off of us,\u201d he said. \u201cWe love our brother. We love our party. And we love our president. Ultimately, it\u2019s better that he\u2019s running as an independent and can impact President Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n But perhaps because they belong to a party that has seen the presidency slip away before thanks to third-party spoilers, other Kennedy siblings weren’t so generous about Robert’s move.<\/p>\n