Sargent Shriver’s posthumous memoir “We Called It a War: Lessons Learned from the Fight to End Poverty” is available for purchase wherever books are sold.

Maria Shriver, siblings get candid about Kennedy family dynamics, political disagreements with RFK Jr.

Sargent Shriver's posthumous memoir "We Called It a War: Lessons Learned from the Fight to End Poverty" is available for purchase wherever books are sold.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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April 22, 2026 3:06 p.m. ET

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Maria Shriver; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Credit:

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty; Michael M. Santiago/Getty

- The Shriver siblings are opening up about the dynamics of their famous family: the Kennedys.

- The Kennedy family has been members of the Democratic party for decades. Meanwhile, RFK Jr. serves in Trump's cabinet.

- *We Called It a War: Lessons Learned from the Fight to End Poverty* is available for purchase wherever books are sold.

The Shriver family is opening up about the dynamics of the Kennedys.

Siblings Maria, Bobby, Tim, and Mark Shriver spoke to PEOPLE in support of their father Sargent Shriver's posthumous memoir, titled *We Called It a War: Lessons Learned from the Fight to End Poverty*, which was released Tuesday. They discovered their father's manuscript for the book among his papers, which Maria describes as the story "of an inspirational leader with moral conviction," which also includes guidance for facing political differences.

The Shrivers, who are Kennedys through Sargent's marriage to Eunice Kennedy, addressed political agreements, which can happen within families. The Kennedy family is famously made up of public servants and members of the Democratic party, including President John F. Kennedy, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and Sen. Ted Kennedy. Sargent is credited with founding the Peace Corps, while Eunice founded the Special Olympics.

However, the Shrivers' cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became part of President Donald Trump's cabinet during his second term. RFK Jr. serves as the secretary of health and human services and has been vocal about his anti-vaccine beliefs.**

Maria Shriver, Robert Kennedy Jr., Eunice Shirver, and Mary Richardson Kennedy in 2004.

Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty

“I think people all have differences in every family so I think we were raised on family loyalty," Maria told the publication. "Daddy brought people of different faiths to the table, different political parties, different skin colors and was always like, that is the table.”

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Tim added that political differences can be "a challenge for all American families," and that their family is no different in that regard.

"But I think many of us are trying as best we can to hold fast to the idea that, even within our own family, sometimes the hardest place to treat people with dignity is at your own dinner table and so we're working hard on that. And like a lot of families I think we're a work in progress.”**

Cover of Sargent Shriver's posthumous memoir 'We Called It a War: Lessons Learned from the Fight to End'.

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Before RFK Jr. joined Trump's cabinet and ran for president, four of his siblings spoke out about his campaign. "The decision of our brother Bobby to run as a third party candidate against Joe Biden is dangerous to our country," they said in October 2023. "We denounce his candidacy." The following August, RFK Jr. suspended his campaign and supported Trump.

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Months later, when RFK Jr. was appointed to Trump's cabinet in January 2025, his cousin Caroline Kennedy released a rare, scathing statement about his being "unqualified" for the role. In a video, she called out RFK Jr.'s lack of “government, financial, management or medical experience,” along with his "personal qualities related to this job" that concerned her.

“Even before he fills this job, his constant denigration of our health care system and the conspiratorial half-truths he’s told about vaccines — including in connection with Samoa’s deadly 2019 outbreak of measles — have cost lives,” Caroline added in part.

“Unlike Bobby, I try not to speak for my father, but I am certain that he and my uncle Bobby, who gave their lives in public service to this country, and my uncle Teddy, who devoted his long Senate career to the cause of improving health care, would be disgusted.”**

“One of the reasons this book is timely is because all of this energy was deployed to try and heal and strengthen the core nature of this country, not to put Americans against Americans," Tim said of his father's memoir, "But to believe in this country, to believe in your fellow Americans.”

*We Called It a War: Lessons Learned from the Fight to End Poverty** *is available to purchase wherever books are sold.

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