Tweet Share Share Comment This is Totally Normal Quote of the Day, a feature highlighting a statement from the news that exemplifies just how extremely normal everything has become.
“I’m so sorry if the Super Bowl advertisement caused anyone in my family pain.” — Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., writing on X, at 8:30 p.m. on Monday.
***
If you happened to look at the X account of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. an hour into the Super Bowl, you’d see hints that he was playing on the country’s nostalgia for the heyday of his family’s political power.
“The Super Bowl always reminds me of playing football with my parents and siblings growing up,” his account posted, with accompanying black-and-white photos of the Kennedy children playing football with Robert F. Kennedy Sr.
That turned out to be something of a teaser: Roughly a half hour later, amid commercials for Doritos and TurboTax, a rather unconventional ad for Kennedy aired. The spot essentially stole the format of John F. Kennedy’s 1960 political ads, with a cheerful jingle and vintage illustrations, and superimposed photos of his 70-year-old nephew.
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RFK Jr. seemed pleased with the ad, which he did not produce. He retweeted praise for it, including a post from Ben Shapiro calling it “shockingly politically astute.”
An hour later, though, Bobby Shriver, another one of JFK’s nephews, weighed in. “My cousin’s Super Bowl ad used our uncle’s faces- and my Mother’s,” he wrote on X. “She would be appalled by his deadly health care views. Respect for science, vaccines, & health care equity were in her DNA.” Mark Shriver, Bobby’s brother, cosigned the sentiment.
Two hours later, RFK responded in a comment on the post.
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.
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Read More In a separate post, he reiterated his apology.
I’m so sorry if the Super Bowl 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. I love you all. God bless you.
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It’s true that the 30-second ad, which cost $7 million to air during the game, was funded by the super PAC, which is largely bankrolled by Tony Lyons, a Republican donor and publisher of “canceled” books. (The DNC has accused Kennedy and the super PAC of illegally coordinating to get him on state ballots.) So it’s true that Kennedy himself didn’t make the ad. But the apology fell flat, given that the ad remains pinned atop his X account page.
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It’s not like unpinning the tweet was going to do much, though, realistically. A good chunk of his family does seem to genuinely dislike him, so it doesn’t seem likely that RFK Jr. was going to repair any relationships with a simple apology.
As of this writing, the RealClearPolitics polling average currently shows RFK Jr. pulling 13 percent of the popular vote against Donald Trump and Joe Biden. In the same polling average, Trump leads Biden by 4.8 points. With this strangely strong showing as a potential spoiler candidate, Kennedy’s Democratic family members might be wishing that he instead asked what else he might do for his country.
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Why RFK Jr.’s Family May Not Accept His Apology for That Super Bowl Ad
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13.02.2024
Tweet Share Share Comment This is Totally Normal Quote of the Day, a feature highlighting a statement from the news that exemplifies just how extremely normal everything has become.
“I’m so sorry if the Super Bowl advertisement caused anyone in my family pain.” — Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., writing on X, at 8:30 p.m. on Monday.
***
If you happened to look at the X account of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. an hour into the Super Bowl, you’d see hints that he was playing on the country’s nostalgia for the heyday of his family’s political power.
“The Super Bowl always reminds me of playing football with my parents and siblings growing up,” his account posted, with accompanying black-and-white photos of the Kennedy children playing football with Robert F. Kennedy Sr.
That turned out to be something of a teaser: Roughly a half hour later, amid commercials for Doritos and TurboTax, a rather unconventional ad for Kennedy aired. The spot essentially stole the format of John F. Kennedy’s 1960 political ads, with a cheerful jingle........
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