Members of the Kennedy family condemned Democratic presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday for remarks he made at a private dinner with journalists in New York last week about the coronavirus.
Kennedy has been accused, inaccurately, of claiming “that coronavirus had been an ‘ethnically targeted’ bioweapon — designed to spare Jews.” He did not, in fact, say that, but rather said that scientific evidence that coronavirus hurt some groups more than others meant ethnically targeted bioweapons could be a future threat.
Still, Democrats, liberal Jewish organizations, and the media seized on the remarks, and condemned Kennedy.
On Monday, several members of the Kennedy family did the same. Kerry Kennedy — who last surfaced in headlines when her human rights organization fêted Alec Baldwin after he accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust — issued a statement in which she condemned her “brother’s deplorable and untruthful remarks last week about Covid being engineered for ethnic targeting.”
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
Kerry Kennedy (L) and Alec Baldwin (R) and arrive at the 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award Gala at the Hilton Midtown in New York City on December 6, 2022. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
Former Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA), who currently serves in the Biden administration as U.S. Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, also issued a brief tweet condemning his great-uncle’s comments, without elaboration.
My uncle’s comments were hurtful and wrong. I unequivocally condemn what he said.
— Joe Kennedy III (@joekennedy) July 17, 2023
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has denied saying anything antisemitic and has reiterated his support for Jews and Israel.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
