One of America’s most famous political dynasties has turned on one of its own.
The family of Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has widely criticized their relative for comments he made about COVID.
During a press event at an Upper East Side restaurant last week, RFK Jr. told reporters of The New York Post that the virus was a “genetically engineered bioweapon” that could have been “ethnically targeted” to kill fewer Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.
“There is an argument that it is ethnically targeted,” Kennedy said. “COVID-19 attacks certain races disproportionately. COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.”
RFK Jr. says that COVID-19 was possibly a bioweapon designed to target white and black people.
He also said that the Chinese and Ashkenzai Jews were the most immune to the Coronavirus.
Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/wzlOyPdiSR
— Censored Men (@CensoredMen) July 15, 2023
“We don’t know whether it was deliberately targeted or not, but there are papers out there that show the racial or ethnic differential and impact,” he continued.
The 69-year-old presidential hopeful also warned that future bioweapons could carry a “’50 percent infection fatality rate’ that would make COVID-19 feel ‘like a walk in the park.’”
“We do know that the Chinese are spending hundreds of millions of dollars developing ethnic bioweapons, and we are developing ethnic bioweapons,” he added. “They’re collecting Russian DNA. They’re collecting Chinese DNA, so we can target people by race.”
Was it fair for RFK Jr.’s own family to publicly criticize him?
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The comments have drawn strong rebuke from family members, who claim they were disgusted by their relative’s somewhat eccentric ideas.
“My uncle’s comments were hurtful and wrong. I unequivocally condemn what he said,” Joe Kennedy III, a former Congressman for Massachussets who now serves as United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, wrote on Twitter.
My uncle’s comments were hurtful and wrong. I unequivocally condemn what he said.
— Joe Kennedy III (@joekennedy) July 17, 2023
“I STRONGLY condemn my brother’s deplorable and untruthful remarks last week about Covid being engineered for ethnic targeting,” Kennedy’s sister Kerry Kennedy tweeted.
“His statements do not represent what I believe or what Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights stand for, with our 50+ year track record of protecting rights and standing against racism and all forms of discrimination,” she continued.
I STRONGLY condemn my brother’s deplorable and untruthful remarks last week about Covid being engineered for ethnic targeting. https://t.co/9YCag7JtHm
— Kerry Kennedy (@KerryKennedyRFK) July 17, 2023
The Democratic National Committee also chimed in against the prospective candidate.
“These are deeply troubling comments and I want to make clear that they do not represent the views of the Democratic Party,” wrote DNC chairman Jaime Harrison.
These are deeply troubling comments and I want to make clear that they do not represent the views of the Democratic Party. https://t.co/CHlsvjlgh2
— Jaime Harrison (@harrisonjaime) July 15, 2023
RFK Jr., meanwhile, has attempted to explain away his comments by arguing that the New York Post story was false.
“The @nypost story is mistaken. I have never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews,” he wrote on Twitter. “I accurately pointed out — during an off-the-record conversation — that the U.S. and other governments are developing ethnically targeted bioweapons and that a 2021 study of the COVID-19 virus shows that COVID-19 appears to disproportionately affect certain races since the furin cleave docking site is most compatible with Blacks and Caucasians and least compatible with ethnic Chinese, Finns, and Ashkenazi Jews.”
“In that sense, it serves as a kind of proof of concept for ethnically targeted bioweapons. I do not believe and never implied that the ethnic effect was deliberately engineered. That study is here.”
The @nypost story is mistaken. I have never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews. I accurately pointed out — during an off-the-record conversation — that the U.S. and other governments are developing ethnically targeted bioweapons and that a 2021…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) July 15, 2023
It is not the first time that Kennedy has drawn condemnation from his own family. Last year, his wife Cheryl Hines criticized him for invoking the Holocaust victim Anne Frank during a speech about vaccines. However, her tweet has since been deleted.
“My husband’s reference to Anne Frank at a mandate rally in D.C. was reprehensible and insensitive,” Hines wrote at the time. “The atrocities that millions endured during the Holocaust should never be compared to anyone or anything. His opinions are not a reflection of my own.”
Kennedy has drawn significant attention since announcing his presidential campaign earlier this year. Despite his strong views on the safety of vaccines and the origins of COVID, he continues to perform well in polling data and may even end up winning several states.
In fact, his overall favorability ratings are understood to be higher than both Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the two frontrunners for both party’s nominations, according to Forbes. Kennedy has so far refused to commit to supporting Biden if the president eventually becomes the nominee.
