2024-02-12 08:26:59
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. apologized Sunday night to his family for any “pain” that a Super Bowl political advertisement – which was nearly identical to an ad from President John F. Kennedy’s 1960 campaign – caused them.
The ad, which was bought and paid for by the pro-Kennedy American Values 2024 super PAC and not his campaign, features images of the younger Kennedy where pictures of his uncle were in the 1960 ad, as ABC News noted.
Our momentum is growing. It’s time for an Independent President to heal the divide in our country. 🇺🇸#Kennedy24 pic.twitter.com/6rwXW3AwAp
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) February 12, 2024
Triumphant music begins the commercial, as narrators repeatedly sing the name “Kennedy” and declare, “Kennedy for me.”
“Do you want a man for president who’s seasoned through and through? A man who’s old enough to know and young enough to do? Well, it’s up to you, it’s up to you, it’s strictly up to you,” the jingle continues.
After the ad aired, Kennedy Jr. caught the ire of his cousin Bobby Shriver.
“My cousin’s Super Bowl ad used our uncle’s faces- and my Mother’s. She would be appalled by his deadly health care views,” Shriver wrote of his late mother, Eunice Shriver, Kennedy Jr.’s paternal aunt. “Respect for science, vaccines, & health care equity were in her DNA. She strongly supported my health care work at @ONECampaign & @RED which he opposes.”
Kennedy, who Politico has called the “black sheep” of his family, responded with an apology for the “pain” the video may have caused Shriver but emphasized the super PAC was behind it, and he was unaware it planned to run the commercial as campaigns cannot coordinate with super PACs under federal election law.
“Bobby. I’m so sorry if that advertisement caused you pain. The ad was created and aired by the American Values Superpac without any involvement or approvals from my campaign,” he wrote.
Bobby. I’m so sorry if that advertisement caused you pain. The ad was created and aired by the American Values Superpac without any involvement or approvals from my campaign. Federal rules prohibit Superpacs from consulting with me or my staff. I send you and your family my…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) February 12, 2024
He later posted a general apology to his family at large to his X account, although he has pinned the advertisement to the top of his page.
I’m so sorry if the Super Bowl advertisement caused anyone in my family pain. The ad was created and aired by the American Values Super PAC without any involvement or approval from my campaign. FEC rules prohibit Super PACs from consulting with me or my staff. I love you all. God…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) February 12, 2024
The YouTube account @tvdays appears to have published the original ad from the 1960 campaign to the platform more than a decade ago, with the same jingle:
ABC News reports the 30-second ad spot ran $7 million.
“RFK Jr. offers us real change along with freedom, trust and hope. Like his uncle and his father, Kennedy is a corruption-fighter, and it’s no wonder the DNC is trying every old trick and inventing new tricks to stop him,” American Values 2024 co-chair Tony Lyons said in a statement to the outlet. “The public sees through it all and won’t stand for it.”
