Caroline Kennedy slams own cousin RFK Jr and accuses him of being a 'predator'

Caroline Kennedy is urging senators to reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for health secretary by questioning his views on vaccinations as well as his ethics - as well as calling him a "predator".

Mr. Kennedy was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next US health secretary, a position that oversees public welfare programmes, medical research, and food safety. However Ms. Kennedy has written what has been described as a scathing letter to lawmakers to attempt to stop this from happening.

The letter cites Mr. Kennedy’s lack of experience and dangerous misinformation about vaccines, plus his personal attributes as a “predator” who is addicted to attention.

“I have known Bobby my whole life; we grew up together. It’s no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets because he himself is a predator,” Ms. Kennedy wrote in the letter, which was first reported in The Washington Post. It was sent ahead of Mr. Kennedy’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday (29 January) with the hopes of deterring his new appointment.

She also said their family is close and speaking out against her cousin was difficult. Ms. Kennedy also claimed her cousin used the family’s legacy for his own gain. Mr. Kennedy’s father, Robert. F. Kennedy, was assassinated during a presidential campaign in 1968. Her father, and his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was shot and killed in 1963.

Ms. Kennedy also criticised her cousin’s advocacy against vaccines. “Bobby preys on the desperation of parents of sick children — vaccinating his own children while building a following by hypocritically discouraging other parents from vaccinating theirs,” she wrote.

The diplomat and attorney also cited the new disclosures in her cousin’s ethics agreement filed with the Senate, which she said outlines how his “crusade against vaccination has benefited him in other ways.” She also said her cousin’s decision to maintain a financial stake in litigation against Merck, a science and technology company that makes a key vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) that is used to protect against cervical cancer.

“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,” Ms. Kennedy wrote in her letter.

HPV is a key area of concern for Ms. Kennedy. She served as President Joe Biden’s Ambassador to Australia, she actively promoted the HPV vaccine and now the country is on its way to eliminating cervical cancer.

On Tuesday (28 January), Jack Schlossberg, Ms. Kennedy’s son, shared a video on social media of his mother reading the letter she had written.

“I am so proud of my courageous mother, who’s lived a life of dignity , integrity and service,” he shared on X alongside the video. Schlossberg also uploaded the video to Instagram.

“I hope it does some good…it is heartening to hear someone with integrity speak on this when we are entering a dark time,” one commenter on Instagram replied.

“God bless Caroline Kennedy,” someone else tweeted in response.

“Please thank her for us. We need her brilliant voice, (and your own), speaking truth to power in this sick era of greed,” a viewer replied under the video.

Dozens of posts on X also criticised Ms. Kennedy. A comment with over 4,000 likes criticised Ms. Kennedy’s statement. “Well, she is also choosing to blow up your family for this,” the X user wrote in response to Schlossberg. “I seriously doubt your grandfather and uncles (and great grand-parents) would approve. And BTW, it is such a low blow to hold him responsible for his brothers' and cousins' drug use and abuse.”

In other RFK Jr news, he was spotted in November tucking into a McDonald's Big Mac after pledging to "make America healthy again".

In a post shared on X/Twitter, Trump, Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr and RFK Jr were pictured on a private plane heading to the Ultimate Fighting Championship bout in New York.

The four of them all had McDonald's meals in front of them, despite RFK Jr's promise to make the country's eating habits healthy again.

Indy100 has reached out to RFK Jr for comment

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