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By Andrew Stanton
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Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s sister called him out Monday for what she called his "deplorable and untruthful" remarks about COVID-19.
Kennedy, the nephew of President John F. Kennedy who is challenging President Joe Biden in the 2024 Democratic presidential primary, is facing backlash for tweeting that the virus was "ethnically targeted" and spared Jewish and Chinese people, the New York Post reported over the weekend.
"COVID-19. There is an argument that it is ethnically targeted. COVID-19 attacks certain races disproportionately," Kennedy Jr. said during a press event at the Upper East Side restaurant Tony Di Napoli, the Post reported. "COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese."
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Kerry Kennedy, his sister and president of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization, condemned his comments in a statement.
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"I strongly condemn my brother's deplorable and untruthful remarks last week about Covid being engineered for ethnic targeting," she wrote. "His statements do not represent what I believe or what Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights stand for, with our 50+-year track record of protecting rights and standing against racism and all forms of discrimination."
A Kennedy spokesperson on Monday afternoon pointed Newsweek to the candidate's previous response. Kennedy wrote on Twitter on Saturday that the Post's story was "mistaken" and that he "never, ever" said COVID-19 was targeted to spare Jews.
"I accurately pointed out—during an off-the-record conversation—that the U.S. and other governments are developing ethnically targeted bioweapons and that a 2021 study of the COVID-19 virus shows that COVID-19 appears to disproportionately affect certain races since the furin cleave docking site is most compatible with Blacks and Caucasians and least compatible with ethnic Chinese, Finns, and Ashkenazi Jews," he tweeted.
Kennedy has faced criticism from some Democrats over his stance on the COVID-19 pandemic and his ties to the anti-vaccination movement. Kennedy opposed vaccination mandates and COVID-19 shutdowns.
Kennedy has long been a member of the anti-vaccination movement. His organization, Children's Health Defense, has made false claims about vaccines, and he has touted unproven COVID-19 treatments such as ivermectin, the Associated Press reported.
Kerry Kennedy has previously voiced disagreement with her brother over vaccines.
"I love Bobby, I think he's just completely wrong on this issue and very dangerous," she told the AP in 2021. "Failure to take vaccines puts people's lives at risk. It not only impacts the person who refuses the jab but imperils the community at large."
Marianne Williamson, who is also running in the Democrat primary, condemned Kennedy Jr.'s statements about the virus.
"I strongly denounce comments made earlier this week by RFK Jr. implying that Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese were relatively 'spared' by COVID-19, while Caucasian and Black people were specifically targeted. Whether intentionally or not, his remarks amplify sinister and unfounded notions that are both anti-Semitic and anti-Chinese," she tweeted.
Update 7/17/23, 4:53 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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