RFK Jr.’s Brother Says Trump Endorsement Is ‘Hollow Grab for Power’

Max Kennedy, the brother of former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., criticized his sibling’s endorsement of Donald Trump as a “hollow grab for power” in a Sunday opinion article in the Los Angeles Times, urging Americans to disregard it.

The criticism comes after Kennedy Jr. dropped out of the presidential race on Friday and endorsed Trump, the GOP’s nominee, who called the endorsement “very nice.” Prior to exiting the race, Kennedy Jr. was the highest polling third-party candidate in the campaign, garnering around 5 percent of the vote, according to national aggregate polls.

Multiple members of the Kennedy family have denounced his endorsement, with some calling it a “betrayal,” while others have said it left them “disgusted.” Many referenced their father, Robert F. Kennedy, the late Democratic politician and human rights lawyer, suggesting that he would be disappointed in Kennedy Jr.’s decision.

In the Sunday opinion piece titled, “Ignore my brother Bobby,” Max Kennedy wrote that he was “heartbroken” over the endorsement and believes his late father “would have despised Donald Trump.”

Max Kennedy also wrote: “He [their father] would have so admired another former prosecutor, Kamala Harris. Her career, like his, has been all about decency, dignity, equality, democracy and justice for all,” countering that “Trump is the enemy of all that.”

Steven Cheung, Trump’s campaign spokesperson, told Newsweek in an email Sunday morning in response to the opinion piece, “President Trump is working to Save America from Comrade Kamala, and everyone should get on board. That’s why so many people from different political backgrounds have supported President Trump.”

Robert F. Kennedy, the brothers’father, served as U.S. attorney general under President John F. Kennedy before joining the U.S. Senate. Harris, the newly named Democratic nominee, previously served as California’s attorney general and as a U.S. senator for the state. Max Kennedy is also a lawyer, having served as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia.

“To pledge allegiance to Trump, a man who demonstrates no adherence to our family’s values, is inconceivable to me. Worse, it is sordid,” Max Kennedy wrote.

He claimed, along with several other news outlet reports, that Kennedy Jr. offered to endorse Harris in exchange for a position in her administration if she won, and when that didn’t work, he turned to support Trump, calling the move a “hollow grab for power” and “a strategic attempt at relevance.”

Max Kennedy’s opinion piece contrasted their father’s legacy with Trump’s politics, highlighting differences on social justice, immigration, the rule of law, and unity, among others.

“The truth is essential to democracy. And truth is essential inside a family, too. For all of these reasons, the truth requires me to set the record clear. I love Bobby. But I hate what he is doing to our country. It is worse than disappointment. We are in mourning,” he wrote.

He then urged Americans “to do what will honor our father the most: Ignore Bobby and support Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic platform. It’s what is best for our country.”

Newsweek has reached out to Kennedy Jr.’s campaign for comment via email on Sunday morning.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday morning, Kennedy Jr. explained his interpretation of Trump’s political slogan, Make America Great Again (MAGA).

“‘Make America Great Again’ recalls a nation brimming with vitality, with a can-do spirit, with hope and a belief in itself.” He added, “It was a nation of broad prosperity, the world’s most vibrant middle class, and a idealistic belief (though not consistently applied) in freedom, justice, and democracy. It was a nation that led the world in innovation, productivity, and technology. And it was the healthiest country in the world.”

He concluded: “I have talked to many Trump supporters. I have talked with his inner circle. I have talked to the man himself. This is the America they want to restore.”

It is unclear how Kennedy Jr.’s exit will impact the national election, given the extremely tight margins of the race between Harris and Trump. The two candidates will face off in their first debate on September 10.