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Robert F Kennedy Jr has apologised after being criticised for a presidential campaign advert that appeared during the Super Bowl, which invoked his famous family’s legacy.
The attorney and Covid-19 conspiracy theorist claimed he had not been consulted on the advert, though it remained pinned to the top of his profile on X/Twitter on Monday.
The 30-second clip that appeared on Sunday, during one of the biggest night’s in the US sporting calendar, appeared to closely resemble a commercial put out by his late uncle, former president John F Kennedy, during his own 1960 presidential campaign.
Mr Kennedy’s apology came in response to a post by Bobby Shriver, former mayor of Santa Monica and also a nephew of JFK, who called out the presidential hopeful on his “deadly health care views”.
“My cousin’s Super Bowl ad used our uncle’s faces – and my Mother’s,” Mr Shriver wrote on X.
“She would be appalled by his deadly health care views. Respect for science, vaccines, & health care equity were in her DNA. She strongly supported my health care work at @ONECampaign & @RED which he opposes.”
Responding to the post, Mr Kennedy wrote: “Bobby. I’m so sorry if that advertisement caused you pain.
“The ad was created and aired by the American Values Superpac without any involvement or approvals from my campaign.
“Federal rules prohibit Superpacs from consulting with me or my staff. I send you and your family my sincerest apologies. God bless you.”
Political commentators have pointed out that, while multiple members of the Kennedy family have endorsed Joe Biden for the presidency in 2024, none have backed Mr Kennedy.
Mr Kennedy initially ran in the Democratic primary against Mr Biden before declaring he would run as an independent in October 2023. He has since signalled he would be open to running as a candidate for the Libertarian Party.
He also claimed that the Trump campaign approached him about being the former president’s running mate for 2024, though this has being vehemently denied by the campaign.
Despite only securing ballot access in two states, Mr Kennedy has touted his strong polling in three-way match-ups against the two likely candidates in the 2024 presidential race. His campaign has largely been written off by the Biden campaign as unserious.
Mr Kennedy has previously peddled conspiracy theories about vaccines, the Covid-19 pandemic, school shootings, 9/11, and claimed he is being censored by Big Tech and the federal government.