A quote about political extremism and intolerance supposedly attributed to Robert F. Kennedy has lapped the internet for years. It reads in full: "What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents."
Kennedy, who served as U.S. attorney general and senator before his assassination in 1968, is the father of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who President-elect Donald Trump has nominated to lead the Health and Human Services Department.
For years, the quote about extremists has appeared in posts on social media platforms including X (archived) and Facebook (archived), as well as on Goodreads (archived).
(Facebook page Robert Francis Kennedy)
The quote's attribution to Kennedy was correct.
The event took place roughly six months after the Nov. 22, 1963, assassination of Kennedy's brother President John F. Kennedy.
Robert Kennedy Makes Hit With W. Georgia Students
Article from May 27, 1964 The Columbus Ledger (Columbus, Georgia)
At the time, Kennedy was attorney general. He served that role from 1961 until September 1964, when he resigned to focus on a senatorial campaign.
A copy of the speech printed on Department of Justice letterhead was available on the Office of the Attorney General's website, which maintains a digital archive of former office leaders' speeches.
In both copies, the quote appeared toward the bottom of the speech's second page.
(University of West Georgia Special Collections)
We have not found any video or audio recordings of the speech.
Previously, we looked into the claim that Kennedy once said, "There are people in every time and every land who want to stop history in its tracks. They fear the future, mistrust the present and invoke the security of a comfortable past which, in fact, never existed." That alleged quote was also genuine. He made that remark in 1964, while serving as attorney general, as well.