Each of the network evening newscasts delighted in reporting that the Camelot Cavalry, if you will, had come to the aid of President Joe Biden in Philadelphia. The Kennedy family joined Biden on stage to denounce their brother who is also running for president.
The rationale is that doing so, festooning Biden’s podium with Kennedys, will somehow deter Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign. Here’s how NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez reported it:
GABE GUTIERREZ: Responding to his family's endorsement of his opponent today, RFK, Jr. posted on social media: "we are divided in our opinions but united in our love for each other”. The environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist first ran as a Democrat. Now, Kennedy's independent campaign is polling above 10% in a few key swing states where Biden is also trailing Trump. Democrats are aggressively attacking third-party candidates like Kennedy, whom they view as a threat to President Biden's re-election, people involved tell NBC News.
This is why Biden needed help from the Kennedy clan- and it isn’t just Bobby Jr.’s polling in swing states but his getting on the ballot in Michigan that makes people nervous. You’ll recall that Michigan is where Biden was embarrassed with a significant number of “Uncommitted” votes during the Democrat primary due to his handling of the war in Gaza.
Gutierrez didn’t actually report about the Michigan ballot, but CBS’s Weijia Jiang and ABC’s Mary Bruce did, respectively. But that bit of newsmaking was lost among the Kennedy sycophancy and Biden apple-polishing.
Generally speaking, these reports shared common themes, to wit: RFK, Jr. is a conspiracy theorist, his family- the mythical Kennedy family- denounces him, and they do so to Defend Democracy, fully aware of What Is At Stake.
Consider this exchange between Mary Bruce and RFK daughter Kerry Kennedy:
MARY BRUCE: I asked his sister Kerry Kennedy if her brother realizes the difference he could make in a close race.
Do you think your brother understands how high those stakes are?
KERRY KENNEDY: You know, look. I think his understanding is not the point here. The point is the understanding of voters, and that's who really needs to understand that your vote counts.
BRUCE: What do you say to someone who knows your family, knows your father and what he stood for, your uncle, but is supporting your brother because of that legacy?
KERRY KENNEDY: Yeah, I'd say look closely at that legacy. Think about who Bobby Kennedy was, who my father was.
This is what the Regime Media is reduced to- egging on sibling rivalry in order to Protect the Precious. Weijia Jiang was no better, closing out her report with this weird take:
WEIJIA JIANG: Today, Kennedy tweeted about his family's decision saying, "I am pleased they are politically active, it’s a family tradition. He added they are divided in opinions but united in their love for each other, though there was clearly no love lost today in Philadelphia.
Expect more evocations of the Kennedy legacies now that the not-Bobby Jr. portions of the family have endorsed Joe Biden, and as Bobby Jr. continues to gain ballot access. Having first ignored him when he ran as a Democrat, the Regime Media will now aid efforts to destroy him.
Click “expand” to view the full transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective newscasts on Thursday, April 18th, 2024:
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
LESTER HOLT: Let's turn to the 2024 presidential campaign. Today prominent members of the Kennedy family endorsed President Biden even though Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running against him. Gabe Gutierrez reports.
GABE GUTIERREZ: Today, with his opponent stuck in court, President Biden on the attack in battleground Pennsylvania.
JOE BIDEN: The 2024 election is about two fundamentally different visions for America. DonalD Trump's vision is one of anger, hate, revenge, and retribution.
GUTIERREZ: The campaign touting the endorsement of 15 Kennedy family members even though one of their own, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Is running against him as an independent.
KERRY KENNEDY: The best way forward for America is to re-elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to four more years.
GUTIERREZ: Responding to his family's endorsement of his opponent today, RFK, Jr. posted on social media: "we are divided in our opinions but united in our love for each other”. The environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist first ran as a Democrat. Now, Kennedy's independent campaign is polling above 10% in a few key swing states where Biden is also trailing Trump. Democrats are aggressively attacking third-party candidates like Kennedy, whom they view as a threat to President Biden's re-election, people involved tell NBC News. Though it's not clear which candidate, President Biden or former President Trump, would lose more votes to RFK, Jr. Kennedy told NBC’s Vaughn Hillyard this in February:
ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR.: I hope to drive equal numbers from both of them. I think at this point I'm probably drawing more from President Trump.
GUTIERREZ: A source familiar with the Biden campaign’s planning says the Kennedy family endorsement was months in the making. Notably, they didn’t mention RFK, Jr’s name once at today’s event. Lester.
HOLT: Gabe Gutierrez, thank you.
CBS EVENING NEWS
NORAH O’DONNELL: Now to the 2024 presidential election and "America Decides." President Biden's campaign is increasingly concerned that the independent bid of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who promotes conspiracies, could hurt Biden's reelection efforts. So Biden appeared with Kennedy's family, who has denounced their brother's views and his candidacy. CBS's Weijia Jiang with news from the campaign trail.
WEIJIA JIANG: At a Biden campaign event in Philadelphia…
KERRY KENNEDY: The Kennedy family endorses Joe Biden for president. [Cheers and applause]
JIANG: 15 members of the Kennedy family, a political dynasty, threw support behind President Biden instead of their own relative, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
JOE BIDEN: I don't want to become emotional but what an incredible honor. To have the support of the Kennedy family.
JIANG: RFK Jr.’s sister, Kerry Kennedy, did not mention him by name, but she insisted the race is just between Biden and Donald Trump.
KERRY KENNEDY: A vote for Joe Biden is a vote for our democracy and our decency.
JIANG: RFK Jr. has sparked controversy with claims like vaccines cause autism in children, but his family's public endorsement of Biden signals how seriously Democrats are taking his run. So far, Kennedy has secured a spot on the ballot in Utah and Michigan. The Kennedy campaign and its supporters claim they have enough signatures to appear on nearly a dozen other states, including key battlegrounds. Donald Trump says RFK Jr. will be a spoiler for Biden.
DONALD TRUMP: I do believe that RFK Jr. will do very well, and I do believe he is going to take a lot of votes away from Crooked Joe Biden.
JIANG: Former Massachusetts congressman Joe Kennedy II said he would encourage his brother to drop out.
JOE KENNEDY II: We cannot do anything that in any way strips even one vote from President Biden.
JIANG: Today, Kennedy tweeted about his family's decision saying, "I am pleased they are politically active, it’s a family tradition. He added they are divided in opinions but united in their love for each other, though there was clearly no love lost today in Philadelphia. Norah.
O’DONNELL: Weijia Jiang. Thank you.
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
DAVID MUIR: We turn now to the race for president. Tonight, more than a dozen members of the Kennedy family have now endorsed President Biden, speaking out publicly today about their own brother, RFK Jr., who is running for president. They are concerned that their brother could take votes from Joe Biden, with the Kennedy name, in this very close election. RFK Jr. maintains he's no spoiler. Here's Mary Bruce.
MARY BRUCE: Tonight in Pennsylvania, members of the Kennedy family, including brothers and sisters of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., throwing their support behind President Biden, concerned RFK Jr. will hand the White House back to Donald Trump.
KERRY KENNEDY: That's right. The Kennedy family endorses Joe Biden for president
BRUCE: The Kennedys worried RFK Jr. Will use his family name to win support from some Democrats in a tight race where every vote will count.
KERRY KENNEDY: We want to make crystal clear our feeling that the best way forward for America is to re-elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to four more years.
BRUCE: Biden, who recently welcomed the family to the White House, has called RFK Jr.'s father his political hero. His bust sits in the Oval Office.
BIDEN: Mom and dad, I hope you're listening. What an incredible honor.
BRUCE: RFK Jr., who has famously embraced conspiracy theories about vaccines, insists he's no spoiler.
ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR.: We know what President Trump and President Biden are going to do if they win this election. They are going to do exactly what they did before. Does anybody here want more of the same?
AUDIENCE: NOOOOOOOO!
BRUCE: I asked his sister Kerry Kennedy if her brother realizes the difference he could make in a close race.
Do you think your brother understands how high those stakes are?
KERRY KENNEDY: You know, look. I think his understanding is not the point here. The point is the understanding of voters, and that's who really needs to understand that your vote counts.
BRUCE: What do you say to someone who knows your family, knows your father and what he stood for, your uncle, but is supporting your brother because of that legacy?
KERRY KENNEDY: Yeah, I'd say look closely at that legacy. Think about who Bobby Kennedy was, who my father was.
BRUCE: (UNINT)...of Robert F. Kennedy arguing that President Biden would carry on the family legacy better than her own brother, well aware that if people vote for RFK Jr. based on the family name, it could sway this race. And polling has shown that when his name is in the mix, it does make a difference. And tonight, we have learned that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will now also be on the ballot in the key state of Michigan, David.
MUIR: All right, Mary Bruce with us again tonight. Mary, thank you.
