Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. apologized to members of his family late Sunday after a Super PAC backing his campaign aired an ad during the Super Bowl using slightly altered visuals from a classic advertisement used by his uncle and former President John F. Kennedy.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a voter rally at St. Cecilia ... [+]
The ad, which remains a pinned post on Kennedy’s X account at the time of publishing, is a nearly exact copy of a famous ad used by his uncle during his 1960 Presidential campaign.
The ad, however, replaces the former president’s photos with the independent candidates, while using the same jingle urging voters to choose “A man who’s old enough to know...and young enough to do.”
Kennedy’s cousin Bobby Shriver—son of the former president’s sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver—strongly criticized the ad for using their uncle’s and his mother’s face, adding: “She would be appalled by his deadly health care views.”
Former Maryland lawmaker and Shriver’s brother Mark Kennedy Shriver also chimed in, saying “I agree with my brother Bobby Shriver, simple as that.”
Kennedy responded to the criticism by tweeting he was sorry if the “advertisement caused anyone in my family pain.”
“The ad was created and aired by the American Values Super PAC without any involvement or approval from my campaign. FEC rules prohibit Super PACs from consulting with me or my staff,” Kennedy added. Despite this, the pinned tweet on his account continues to display the video with the text “It’s time for an Independent President to heal the divide in our country.”