For the last 70 or so years, the Kennedy name has stood as a symbol of American royalty. Members of the Kennedy family have held titles such as congressmen, ambassador, senator, attorney general and, of course, president. 

Today, the most famous Kennedy alive is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

RFK Jr. is an independent candidate for president of the United States. 

Or was. 

In a move I characterize as spineless, spiteful and egotistical, Kennedy dropped out of his long-shot bid for Washington and endorsed the Republican nominee and the former president of the United States, Donald Trump.

With this endorsement, he joins the long list of politicians and activists who kneeled to the golden throne after being trashed and ridiculed by Trump. Over the last year, Trump repeatedly attacked Kennedy, calling him a “radical” who’s further to the left of Kamala Harris. Trump also called Kennedy “the dumbest member of the Kennedy clan.” 

RFK Jr. has proven to his supporters and the electorate as a whole that his manifesto of taking down the “deep state” and defeating the two party system was all an act. In 2024, Trump and his loyalists are the deep state. Over the course of his presidency, Trump molded his own bureaucracy to keep loyalists by his side, and advance his ultra-conservative agenda. Trump may have killed the country club wing of the Republican party, but in a way, he himself has now become the establishment. 

Kennedy’s campaign platform, which centers on anti-corporation and environmental stances, is further undermined by his association with Trump, who’s administration rolled back many environmental protections. Not to mention how the Trump tax cuts catered to billionaires and corporate interests, which Kennedy opposes.

But what’s the real reason that Kennedy endorsed Trump? After all, he’s the same person Kennedy referred to on multiple occasions as “a terrible human being, the worst president ever and barely human,” and “probably a sociopath.”

Certainly a job.

Kennedy remained in contact with the Trump Campaign throughout the last month before his eventual exit from the race. In exchange for dropping out and endorsing Trump, Kennedy wanted a potential spot in the Trump administration. He also attempted to call Democratic nominee, Harris, in an attempt to make the same deal he would eventually strike with Trump. 

She never picked up the phone.

This contradiction is not just political but physiological, reflecting a broader pattern of erratic behavior that has defined RFK Jr.’s public and private life.

In 2014, Kennedy discovered a dead black bear cub on the side of the road, seemingly hit by a car. Puzzled over his discovery, Kennedy came up with the idea to skin and eat the bear. Kennedy then loaded the roadkill into his car and continued on his way to a dinner in New York City. After quickly realizing the bear would spoil in his trunk, he dropped it off in Central Park, staging a scene as though the animal had been killed by a cyclist. This story was broken by The New Yorker in early August of this year. After being asked for comment, Kennedy posted his own video to twitter attempting to get ahead of the story with the caption, “Looking forward to seeing how you spin this one, @NewYorker…”

The problem with Kennedy’s video is that     there’s nothing to spin. He just told everyone what happened — how he staged a dead bear in Central Park because he thought it was funny. Everyone had the same reaction: Nice one Bobby, way to get ahead of that one. 

The bear incident may seem like a story your weird uncle tells you at the Thanksgiving table that starts off with “One time in college…” This theme remains relevant in some of Kennedy’s other debacles, including the photo of him allegedly eating a roasted dog (which he denies), or a dead worm that he claims ate a portion of his brain which caused him to “fog up,” or how he sawed the head off a washed-up dead whale and lugged it home.

However, your laugh will cease as you quickly learn how RFK Jr.’s judgment, and lack of morals and principles, are a danger to anyone unfortunate enough to be within his crosshairs.

Mary Richardson Kennedy, RFK Jr.’s first wife, discovered her husband’s private diary. In the diary, he recounted several affairs, sexual encounters and deeply personal thoughts about his lust for other women. The diary allegedly included a “scorecard,” where Kennedy marked how far he got with each woman. The discovery of the diary sent Richardson into a deep depression. After a messy divorce, the Kennedys distanced themselves from her, and RFK Jr. took custody of their children. Richardson later took her own life.

RFK Jr.’s recklessness and disregard for public decency is entirely out of step with the legacy of the Kennedy family. These incidents collectively paint a picture of a man increasingly estranged from the values of integrity, public service and respect for others that his family has long embodied.

Since RFK Jr.’s exit from the race, Trump staffers have used images of Robert Kennedy Sr. and John F. Kennedy, depicting them in pro-Trump ads. This includes an altered image of RFK Sr. holding up a Trump flag. 

Nicole Shanahan, Kennedy Jr.’s running mate before he exited the race, posted a picture to X containing RFK Sr., JFK, RFK Jr. and Trump. It was captioned “They started it. They’ll finish it.”

Using the images of JFK and RFK Sr. to promote rhetoric that stands against what they stood for, is hypocrisy at its finest.

RFK Jr. and his new ally are so far gone from his father and uncle’s values that shaped a vision of public service rooted in justice, civility, and a deep commitment to the welfare of all Americans. While the rest of the modern Kennedy family has stayed true to this oath, the same can not be said for Bobby.

The Kennedy’s have repeatedly come out against RFK Jr.’s vaccine conspiracies, bizarre behavior and his recent endorsement. Said in a letter signed by five of his siblings, “Our brother Bobby’s decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story.”.

A sad story it is. RFK Jr. fought a drug addiction after the death of his father. He got clean and had a successful career as an environmental lawyer, who sued polluters, big oil and stood up for the environment.

Now he’s overshadowed by his embrace of vaccine misinformation and conspiracy theories. Once a champion of public health and environmental justice, RFK Jr. has since distanced himself from the values that defined his family’s legacy. 

RFK Jr. may be the loudest voice in the modern day Kennedy clan, but his value system remains closely aligned with the same people that his father and uncle were fighting against.