WASHINGTON — In a recent letter to the Senate, Caroline Kennedy, a prominent member of the Kennedy family, labeled her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a “predator” driven by an addiction to power, asserting that he should be rejected for the role of health secretary under President Donald Trump. As the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy and a former U.S. ambassador to Australia and Japan, Ms. Kennedy provided a stark portrayal of her cousin, reflecting the sentiments of other family members who have condemned his political ambitions.
This letter, which was initially revealed by The Washington Post and later obtained by various media outlets, included harsh critiques of Robert’s controversial views on vaccines, which she argues disqualifies him from the position. Caroline Kennedy shared intimate accounts from their shared childhood, suggesting that these experiences reveal grave concerns about his character. She characterized aspects of his upbringing, from his basement and garage to his college dormitory, as locations central to drug use, describing them as “an epicenter” of chaotic behavior where he reportedly engaged in disturbing activities, including putting baby chickens and mice in blenders for his hawks.
In her statement, she candidly described the environment as “often a perverse scene of despair and violence.” Caroline Kennedy also took to social media to read her letter aloud, emphasizing her concerns. Efforts to get a response from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regarding the letter were not immediately fruitful. He has previously spoken about his own struggles with heroin addiction, including a guilty plea for carrying it on a plane back in 1984.
Caroline Kennedy accused her cousin of exploiting the vulnerabilities of parents with sick children, highlighting the contradiction in his actions as he has immunized his own kids while publicly speaking against vaccinations for others. Furthermore, she pointed out that he intends to profit from a lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company Merck regarding its HPV vaccine, Gardasil, which is known to prevent cervical cancer. She disclosed that he earned over $850,000 last year from this lawsuit, arguing that his actions are hypocritical. “In other words, he is willing to enrich himself by denying access to a vaccine that can prevent almost all forms of cervical cancer and which has been safely administered to millions of boys and girls,” she asserted.
With deep personal reflections, Caroline Kennedy expressed that her late father, John F. Kennedy, and uncle Bobby Kennedy would find her cousin’s actions appalling, reinforcing the weight of her family legacy in her condemnation. She expressed her certainty that both her father, who was assassinated in 1963, and her uncle Robert F. Kennedy, who was tragically killed in 1968 during his own presidential campaign, would be disgusted by the current trajectory of his political ambitions.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to appear before the Senate Finance Committee as part of his nomination process for the health secretary role. In addition, he will participate in another hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, a significant panel that was once chaired by his late uncle, Ted Kennedy.
