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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre joined a chorus
of Democratic outrage at the comments from the 69-year-old son
of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a member of the Kennedy political
dynasty who was assassinated while running for the Democratic
presidential nomination in 1968.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a candidate for the Democratic
presidential nomination in 2024, putting him directly in
competition with Biden, who is seeking a second four-year term.
Kennedy is a long shot for the nomination, with a poll average
from election data website FiveThirtyEight showing that about
15% of Democrats support him.
"The assertion that COVID was genetically engineered to spare
Jewish and Chinese people is deeply offensive, and incredibly
dangerous. Every aspect of these comments reflect some of the
most abhorrent antisemitic conspiracy theories throughout
history and contributes to today's dangerous rise of
antisemitism," Jean-Pierre said.
The New York Post on Saturday published a video that appeared to
show Kennedy speaking at a dinner in Manhattan. In the video,
the candidate says "COVID-19 attacks certain races
disproportionately."
"COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The
people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese," he
says in the video, adding that it was not known whether the
virus was deliberately targeted or not.
Kennedy said on Sunday on Twitter than the "insinuation by @nypost
and others that, as as result of my quoting a peer-reviewed
paper on bio-weapons, I am somehow antisemitic, is a disgusting
fabrication."
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland; Editing by
Heather Timmons and Deepa Babington)
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