Kennedys to endorse Biden over relative RFK Jr

More than a dozen members of America's most famous political family plan to endorse President Joe Biden over their relative Robert F Kennedy Jr.

Mr Biden will be joined by at least 15 members of the Kennedy clan, which helped shape the modern Democratic party, in Pennsylvania on Thursday.

The endorsement underlines the lack of support for Mr Kennedy Jr's independent bid to be president within his family.

He mounted his campaign after weighing a run for the Democratic nomination.

In Philadelphia, Mr Biden will be introduced by Kerry Kennedy, Mr Kennedy Jr's younger sister.

She will highlight Donald Trump's "outrageous lies and behaviour", according to a copy of her remarks released by the Biden campaign.

"A vote for Joe Biden is a vote to save our democracy and our decency," she plans to say.

Former President Donald Trump is expected to face Mr Biden, a Democrat, in November as the Republican nominee.

A number of relatives have opposed Mr Kennedy Jr's campaign from the start, and members of the family, which has deep roots in Ireland, visited Mr Biden at the White House on St Patrick's Day.

In Philadelphia, several will go door knocking or make calls for the Biden campaign. Among the group will be Joe Kennedy III, a former congressman who serves as the Biden administration's special envoy to Northern Ireland for economic affairs.

Although the influence of the Kennedys has declined this century, few families have had such a marked effect on US politics. Mr Kennedy Jr counts a president and senator among his uncles, and in 1968 his father was assassinated while running for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Mr Kennedy Jr had a career as an environmental lawyer before leading the anti-vaccine campaign group Children's Health Defense, which saw its profile and donations soar during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The BBC contacted the Kennedy campaign for comment.

Mr Kennedy Jr has addressed his family's opposition to his candidacy by noting the size of his clan and the fact that several relatives back his campaign, which is managed by his daughter-in-law Amaryllis Fox Kennedy.

"I have a big family, over Fourth of July weekend there were I believe 105 Kennedys at Cape Cod, and a lot of them support me," he told cable network News Nation earlier this year.

Polls indicate Mr Kennedy Jr could potentially pick up enough votes to affect the results in crucial swing states, although it's unclear whom he might hurt more - Mr Biden or Mr Trump.

His most immediate challenge in the race will be getting his name on the ballot. The campaign says it has enough petition signatures to qualify for the ballot in eight states, with efforts underway in most others.

The Democratic Party has mounted a legal challenge, arguing that a political action committee supporting his campaign is not allowed to collect those signatures.

Democrats have also tried to link Mr Kennedy Jr to Mr Trump, playing up the fact that major Trump donor Timothy Mellon is also the biggest donor to a political action committee supporting the Kennedy campaign.

Mr Trump, meanwhile, has praised Mr Kennedy Jr. In a post on Truth Social he wrote: "He is Crooked Joe Biden's Political Opponent, not mine. I love that he is running!"

At the same time, some Trump supporters have grown concerned he poses a threat and have emphasised Mr Kennedy Jr's views on the environment and other issues in an attempt to paint him as a far-left radical.