President Biden and former Presidents Obama and Clinton on Wednesday made a rare showing together at a memorial service to honor the late Ethel Kennedy.
Biden, who gave the final eulogy at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., called it “an emotional journey” listening to the former presidents and other speakers in attendance, and shared his own stories about how Ethel Kennedy “played an essential role” in his own life.
“We’re a better country, and a better world, because of Ethel Kennedy,” Biden said.
Ethel Kennedy, the wife of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.) and sister-in-law to former President Kennedy, died Oct. 10 at the age of 96 due to complications from a stroke . She is survived by nine children, including independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was present at the service but didn’t give a eulogy.
“She was there as soon as I entered political life,” Biden said, describing her support after an accident killed his wife and daughter in the 1970s, and after the passing of his son, Beau Biden, in 2015. “She got me through a time I didn’t want to stick around.”
He prompted laughter from the audience when he described getting a Valentine’s Day card from Ethel Kennedy, which included a picture of the pair of them “surrounded by hearts” and a handwritten note that said “cause he’s no ordinary Joe.”
Obama, who sat next to Biden and chatted with him before the funeral began, called Ethel Kennedy his “dear friend” in his remarks.
“Most Americans got to know Ethel as a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a great grandmother,” he said. “The woman who, standing alongside her husband Bobby, helped tap the idealism of an entire generation.” Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom during his administration.
The former president added that “she was a big dose in a small package. While Bobby was shy and serious apparently, Ethel was not. She was a spitfire from a young age.”
Clinton later also praised the matriarch of the Kennedy family, joking that “she would flirt with me in the most innocent ways.”
The funeral marked a rare appearance of three current and former presidents together as part of a long lineup of voices at the memorial service, which included musical performances from Stevie Wonder, Sting and Kenny Chesney.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was largely behind the pressure campaign for Biden to drop out of the race, praised Biden, Obama and Clinton at the beginning of her eulogy.
“How perfect for Ethel to have three great presidents of the United States,” she said.
Another notable speech came from Martin Luther King III, who is the son of Martin Luther King Jr. His father was assassinated just two months before Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination.
“There’s a sense in which the Kennedys and Kings are a blended family,” King said.
“It’s the kind of shared journey though a transformational historical epic that brought new idealism and hope to our country. … I believe that this bond between our families will endure for the decades to come.”
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