NORTH PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Members of the Kennedy family joined President Joe Biden at the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center in North Philadelphia on Thursday to announce their endorsement of him for a second term in the White House.
The president was also in North Philly to visit a campaign phone bank at the rec center, and said Pennsylvania was his ticket to the White House.
Kerry Kennedy spoke for the family in the gym of the rec center to the cheers of about 200 invited guests. She talked about Biden’s record, but also the values she said he shared with her father, Robert Kennedy and uncle, 35th U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
“That’s why nearly every single grandchild of Joe and Rose Kennedy supports Joe Biden,” said Kennedy.
In total, 15 members of the Kennedy family joined Biden in North Philly on Thursday for the endorsement announcement. The president beamed alongside the members that joined him on stage and called the endorsement an “incredible honor.”
He also spoke of how Robert Kennedy inspired his own path into public service.
“I’ve done so in large part because I thought it was something your dad would have done,” he told Kerry. “He’s always been on my mind, been one of my heroes.”
The notable exception from the ceremony was Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running for president as an independent. His run could take votes from Biden and provide a path to the White House for his Republican challenger.
Neither Biden nor Kerry Kennedy addressed RFK Jr. in their remarks.