RFK Jr Apologises To Family Over Super Bowl Ad

Robert F Kennedy Jr. has apologised to his family after a Super Bowl commercial resembling one that aired during his uncle John F Kennedy’s campaign in 1960.

Mr. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine crusader, is running for president as an independent.

The advertisement played right before the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday.

It featured photos of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. mixed into the original 1960 ad and a catchy melody that repeated the Kennedy surname fifteen times in 30 seconds.

RFK Jr Apologizes To Family Over Super Bowl Ad

The American Values 2024 Political Action Committee, a Super Pac, was in charge of creating the advertisement.

Super PACs can raise and spend limitless funds in favour of political candidates but cannot coordinate with campaigns.

Tony Lyons, co-founder of American Values 2024, said the spot cost $7 million (£5.5 million). Tim

Mellon, an American Values 2024 Pac donor, has given the group $15 million. Mr Mellon is also a major contributor to Trump-supporting political action committees.

One of Mr Kennedy’s cousins questioned the advertisement and the candidate’s anti-vaccine stance.

“My cousin’s Super Bowl ad featured our uncle’s and my mother’s faces. In a post on X, Bobby Shriver, the son of President Kennedy’s sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver, said, “She would be appalled by his deadly health care views.” “Respect for science, vaccines, & health care equity were in her DNA.”

RFK Jr Apologizes To Family Over Super Bowl Ad

In reaction, RFK Jr. wrote, “I’m extremely sorry if the Super Bowl advertisement caused anyone in my family distress. The ad was prepared and broadcast by the American Values Super PAC, with no involvement or consent from my campaign. FEC regulations forbid Super PACs from consulting with me or my staff. I adore you all. “God bless you.

However, the advertisement stayed at the top of the candidate’s X feed on Monday morning. Stefanie Spear, campaign spokesperson, told CBS News that the RFK Jr campaign was “pleasantly surprised and grateful to the American Values Pac for running an ad during the Super Bowl”.

The original ad attempted to show John F. Kennedy as a combination of youth and experience. President Kennedy, a Democrat, was the youngest president ever elected, and in 1960, he faced a seasoned Republican politician, incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon.

The original featured a catchy song with phrases repeated in the most recent Super Bowl ad: “Do you want a man for president who is seasoned through and through? “A man who is old enough to know but young enough to do?”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is 70, almost three decades older than his uncle in 1960. However, he is younger than 77-year-old Donald Trump and 81-year-old Joe Biden, and people have expressed anxiety about the two contenders’ ages.

Despite his name recognition, Mr Kennedy is well behind Mr Biden and Mr Trump in polls. According to research, his support hovers around 10%.

Kyle Kondik, a political analyst at the University of Virginia’s Centre for Politics, stated that the advertisement used a theme similar to many other Super Bowl commercials: nostalgia.

“And remaking a political ad from the 1960s is about as nostalgic as you can get,” he said.

“For any third-party candidate, getting attention is part of the game, and this is a big political story today,” he said. “He’s also taking advantage of the fact that he’s an independent in a year when the public appears to dislike the two major party candidates… His surname is what he has going for him.

RFK Jr Apologizes To Family Over Super Bowl Ad

Polls are split on whether Mr Kennedy’s entry into the race will syphon more support away from Mr

Biden or Mr Trump – or attract voters who would not have voted for either major party.

On Friday, Democratic Party leadership filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, accusing the RFK Jr campaign of working too closely with American Values 2024 to get Mr Kennedy on the ballot in all 50 states.

In a statement issued Sunday, a Democratic Party spokeswoman described Mr Kennedy as “nothing more than a Trump stalking horse in this race”.

SOURCE – (BBC)