The Kennedy family has always epitomised the fruits of American liberalism and national unity. In fact, the brief presidency of John F. Kennedy is deemed a model for every successive administration in dealing with matters both foreign and domestic.
How ironic is it then for the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, a pioneer for civil rights and social justice, to join the ranks of Donald Trump and his administration of chaos?
In an eventful year for the Kennedy family – from RFK Jr’s failed 2024 presidential campaign, to internet sensation and Vogue’s crowned political correspondent, Jack Schlossberg (the grandson of JFK, who was heavily involved in Kamala Harris’ campaign) arguing that America finds itself in a grave moment in it’s history – the fracture within America’s greatest political dynasty is emblematic of the political divide within every American household.
There seems to be a tug of war between Caroline Kennedy and RFK Jr in shaping the future Kennedy family legacy. After years of maintaining a sense of dignified privacy and discretion, Ms Kennedy delivered a blistering rebuke against her cousin before his Senate confirmation hearing commenced. Of the many shocking details in her statement she labeled her cousin a “predator” who, as a child, would grind “baby chickens and mice in a blender”- something straight out of a Tarantino fever dream.
Ms Kennedy makes clear that RFK Jr had a disruptive influence on his siblings who suffered from substance abuse. Moreover, his anti-vax stance in recent years may have directly impacted Samoa’s measles outbreak in 2019, where he was accused of waging a war of disinformation. We are dealing with someone who has immense personal struggles that seep their way into his public and supposedly ‘professional’ profile.
You know that wayward uncle at Christmas dinner who spouts the most obscene and erroneous drivel? RFK Jr is that uncle.
His irresponsible views on healthcare and medical science drove independent senator Bernie Sanders to engage in a heated exchange about controversial onesies which display slogans slogans like “unvaxxed, unafraid”, even though Mr Kennedy’s children are themselves vaccinated. RFK Jr continued to add salt to the wound by claiming the current Medicaid plan had high rates of premiums and deductibles to be paid, when most people who are on this plan do not pay into these cost-sharing methods.
This second Trump presidency has signalled a new age of unmoderated rhetoric and discourse which requires getting low and fighting in the mud. It seems to be an unfortunate turn of events when the leading families of the Democratic Party have begun to abandon Michelle Obama’s famous catchphrase “when they go low, we go high”, including the former First Lady herself who ditched Trump’s inauguration for what many speculated as not wanting to “plaster” on a smile for someone like Donald Trump.
Another Kennedy who gained notoriety in the past year was Caroline’s son, Jack Schlossberg, who does not hold back from his scathing criticism of his own family. He certainly doesn’t hide behind the quiet dignity that has defined the family presence in current political affairs, when his response to the hearing is that RFK Jr is “corrupt” and someone who has sullied the family legacy in his endorsement for Trump.
Schlossberg’s public scrutiny on X (formerly Twitter) is tempered by his comical tone as he questions “if the Kennedys can’t stand up, who can?!” and then goes on to critique RFK Jr’s wife as being “very dry” and an enabler. By dragging each other through the mud, the Kennedy’s have stained their legacy by bringing their dirty laundry out to the public domain.
This just goes to show that even America’s most illustrious family is not immune from the toxic political climate that is being fuelled by the return of Donald Trump to the White House. By fostering a culture of polarisation and misinformation, a near decade of Trump’s political career has brought worms out of the woodwork from all sections of American society.
