ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Sunday acknowledged endorsements from more than a dozen of his relatives who are backing Democratic President Joe Biden , noting that he feels no ill will over the family political divide.

Some of them dont like the fact that Im running, Kennedy said of his relatives, after a comedy showcase in suburban Detroit to benefit his campaign.

Kennedy who last year launched an independent presidential bid after first challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination was reacting to the endorsements from his sister and other relatives last week, a move by the Biden campaign that signals how seriously the presidents team is taking a long-shot candidate using his last names lingering Democratic magic to siphon support from the incumbent.

In Philadelphia, Kerry Kennedy, a daughter of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, niece of former President John F. Kennedy and sister of the current presidential candidate, called Biden my hero, saying without mention of her brother that the family wanted to make crystal clear their support for reelecting Biden.

Biden, who keeps a bust of Robert F. Kennedy in the Oval Office, said the endorsements were an incredible honor.

Going on to describe family debates he said his father orchestrated among his children, Kennedy said Sunday night that the exercise showed him a respectful way to take opposing positions with people he cares about without taking it personally.

I debated them with information and passion and not to hate each other because we disagreed with each other, he said. I love my family, either way.