Robert F. Kennedy would have turned 100 this week — a milestone that has prompted tributes, reflections, and renewed interest in the ideas that defined his life. But among the commemorations, one piece has risen above the rest: a sharply worded Boston Globe op-ed written by his son, Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, who honors his father’s legacy while delivering one of the most direct and personal critiques his prominent family has ever leveled at Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now serving in a senior health position in the Trump administration.

In the nearly six decades since Robert F. Kennedy’s death, his children have often spoken about the values he championed — civil rights, economic fairness, and a profound belief in listening to those who suffer most. But this week, Maxwell Kennedy took that reflection a step further, arguing that his brother RFK Jr. is supporting policies that stand in direct contrast to their father’s life work. The result is a striking intergenerational conversation not just about political ideology, but about the meaning of public service, the responsibility of those in power, and the obligation to care for the most vulnerable.

With the country still reeling from a lengthy government shutdown and a major restructuring of federal nutrition programs, Maxwell’s essay arrived at a moment when hunger and poverty are once again pressing national concerns. And his message — delivered with a mixture of admiration, frustration, and urgency — has sparked debate across party lines.

A Son Reflects: “There Is No Way to Know Precisely What He Would Have Thought”

Maxwell Kennedy opens his tribute by acknowledging the obvious: no one can definitively say how Robert F. Kennedy would interpret the America of 2025. Yet the values that animated his father’s political life, he argues, offer a clear framework for understanding what most troubled him and what most inspired him.

Robert F. Kennedy, he writes, cared deeply about poverty — not as an abstract policy challenge but as a lived experience he encountered face-to-face as he traveled the country during his Senate years and his 1968 presidential campaign. His father never knew hunger as a child, Maxwell notes, but once he witnessed it in the Mississippi Delta and in other communities forgotten by national politics, he committed himself to addressing it with both policy and moral force.

“He cared about the injustice of poverty in the richest nation in the world,” Maxwell writes, “and our duty to make sure no child goes to bed hungry.” These principles, he insists, are not partisan. They are simply human. And they guided some of RFK’s most consequential work.

The Legacy: Food Stamps, WIC, School Meals, and a Moral Mission

Robert F. Kennedy’s efforts in the 1960s helped lay the foundation for many of the federal nutrition programs Americans still rely on today. Maxwell highlights this history in detail — and reminds readers how closely these initiatives were tied not to statistics or budget lines, but to personal interactions.

RFK’s trip to Mississippi with Marian Wright (now Marian Wright Edelman) is often cited as a turning point in his understanding of structural poverty. Standing in homes with bare cupboards, speaking with parents struggling to feed their children, he saw suffering that national leaders had ignored. This encounter, Maxwell writes, “changed him forever.”

In office, RFK supported pilot versions of what eventually became SNAP (food stamps), WIC, and the National School Lunch Program. After his death, lawmakers including George McGovern and Presidents Nixon and Carter expanded these efforts — a rare bipartisan recognition that hunger is a challenge transcending ideology.

These programs, Maxwell argues, are among the most important legacies his father left behind.

A Country in Crisis: Hunger Returns to the National Spotlight

Fast-forward six decades, and Maxwell contends that the United States is seeing a troubling resurgence in food insecurity. The prolonged government shutdown earlier this year left millions of Americans without timely assistance, while schools, shelters, and food banks reported overwhelming demand.

Compounding the crisis, Maxwell writes, are recent changes enacted through President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which tightened eligibility rules for federal nutrition programs. While supporters argue the adjustments aim to streamline services and reduce waste, critics warn they could leave many families unexpectedly without support.

Maxwell makes his position clear: “Today, hunger remains an acute problem in America, and the programs my father fought for are being weakened or dismantled.” He characterizes the policy direction as harmful and calls for renewed compassion in national leadership.

The Flashpoint: RFK Jr.’s Role in the Trump Administration

Maxwell’s op-ed turns most pointed when addressing his brother directly. RFK Jr., once known primarily for environmental advocacy, joined the Trump administration as Secretary of Health and Human Services — a move that surprised many observers and created tension within the Kennedy family.

Maxwell argues that by supporting policies that reduce nutrition assistance, his brother is contradicting their father’s values. Preventing hunger, he writes, “is the primary duty of every public health official.” Standing with a president whose budget priorities, in Maxwell’s view, disadvantage those in need represents, he says, “a betrayal of all that my father worked for.”

The language is firm but not vicious, and Maxwell frames his criticism not as a political attack, but as a moral one. “If we cannot prevent our fellow citizens from going hungry,” he quotes his father as saying, “we must ask ourselves what kind of country we really are.” Those words, Maxwell argues, are “as essential now as they were then.”

Family Reaction: A Debate That Goes Beyond the Kennedys

Maxwell is not alone in voicing concerns about RFK Jr.’s leadership. Other family members have spoken publicly in recent months, expressing discomfort with his alignment with the Trump administration.

During RFK Jr.’s confirmation hearings, cousin Caroline Kennedy sent a letter to senators sharply criticizing his public record and suitability for the position. In September, nephew Joe Kennedy III called for his resignation after RFK Jr. dismissed an advisory committee that provides national guidance on vaccine policy. Joe Kennedy framed the move as reckless and argued it undermined public trust.

Still, Maxwell’s op-ed stands out. It is not simply a political disagreement; it is an emotional appeal grounded in a shared family legacy. By framing his brother’s choices as a departure from their father’s values, Maxwell elevates the debate from a policy dispute to a philosophical one.

RFK’s Vision at 100: What Would He Say Today?

Maxwell Kennedy’s op-ed ultimately uses RFK’s centennial as a lens through which to examine modern American politics. It is a call to remember the compassion RFK showed during visits to impoverished communities, the empathy that guided his Senate work, and the optimism he carried even during national turmoil.

RFK believed deeply in the power of showing up, of listening, of meeting people where they are. He was known for sitting on the floor with children, talking to parents in rural kitchens, and engaging with those left behind by economic progress. His approach to leadership was intimate, personal, and driven by a belief that government exists to serve those who need it most.

Maxwell argues that this spirit is still urgently needed today — especially in a country where political division often overshadows empathy.

A Legacy Still Being Written

In many ways, the debate within the Kennedy family mirrors broader divisions in American politics: disagreements over the role of government, the meaning of compassion, and the responsibility of leaders to address inequality. Maxwell’s op-ed does not settle those debates, but it brings them into sharp relief — and reminds readers that legacies can be honored or reshaped by each new generation.

As the nation reflects on what Robert F. Kennedy stood for, his son is urging Americans to focus not just on nostalgia, but on action. “Empathy was at the root of wisdom in politics,” Maxwell writes. And that message — one of listening, compassion, and responsibility — is perhaps the most lasting tribute to his father’s life.

Whether the country will rise to the challenge remains to be seen.
But as RFK reaches his symbolic 100th year, the conversation about his ideals feels as urgent as ever.