Super Bowl ad for RFK Jr. stirs Democratic and family tension over his independent White House bid

Robert Kennedy Jr.’s presidential ambitions resulted in public family drama after a political action committee aired a Super Bowl ad invoking the Democratic family’s legacy to implicitly compare the independent candidate to his assassinated uncle, President John F. Kennedy.

The 30-second spot, financed by the American Values 2024 Super PAC that is backing Kennedy, featured a shortened version of a campaign song that the 35th president used in his 1960 campaign. The spot also mimicked cartoon and newsreel effects using black-and-white pictures of Robert Kennedy Jr. similar to JFK. But in a notable departure from the Kennedy’s bygone Democratic Party dynasty, the ad urged Americans to “Vote Independent.”

After the game, Kennedy responded to online criticism, including from one of his cousins, emphasizing that his campaign did not produce the spot, which cost an estimated $7 million.

“I’m so sorry if the Super Bowl advertisement caused anyone in my family pain,” Kennedy wrote late Sunday night on X, formerly Twitter. “The ad was created and aired by the American Values Super PAC without any involvement or approval from my campaign.… I love you all. God bless you.”

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