With roots in elected office dating back to the 1800s, the Kennedys have long been called American royalty. Despite scandal and tragedy following the family over generations—so much so, a supposed family curse shrouds their mystique—the powerful reputation that comes with the name has remained. Writing at Vanity Fair, Joe Hagan explores how iron-clad family loyalty has deflected cracks in the dynasty's armor, and whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 2024 presidential run is testing its bounds. While RFK Jr. has been on the national stage for years as a high-profile environmental lawyer and heir apparent, the trail of scandals associated with him has mostly been buried. Hagan unearths a litany of alleged behavior—"a bottomless well of scandal that, over time, has immunized people against its real-world consequences."—from family members and sources close to the Kennedys.
He compares the depth of these scandals to Donald Trump's—constant and dizzying, without sticking. An alleged sexual assault, infidelity, drug abuse, and sex addiction are all discussed at length, but most disturbing, Hagan documents a track record of pathological lies that run rampant in today's fact-check-free media landscape. This has created an opening for RFK Jr. in the anti-vax world, the cause he's most linked to today. The family has gone so far as endorsing President Biden over RFK Jr., but their jabs at him are blunted, focusing more on "policy differences" than whether he is fit for the role. "Because you pull the Bobby thread, the whole tapestry unravels. It's not just Bobby, it's all of them," one source told Hagan. "You pull the Bobby thread, the Kennedy myth all comes apart." Read the full account here. (And more longform recaps here.)
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