Politics
Williams was close friends with Robert F. Kennedy and his wife Ethel Kennedy, campaigning in 1968 for Kennedy in the Democratic presidential primary races. Williams was among the celebrities who were in Kennedy's entourage in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles where RFK was shot and mortally wounded by Sirhan Sirhan in June 1968. Williams solemnly sang "Battle Hymn of the Republic" at RFK's funeral, at Ethel's request. By August 1969, over a year after Bobby Kennedy's death, Williams and Claudine Longet named their newborn son Bobby after Kennedy. The Williams' friendship with Ethel Kennedy endured, with Williams even serving as escort to Ethel during events in the 1970s. He also raised funds for George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign, performing at benefit concerts On the morning of October 21, 2012, McGovern died at age 90 just four weeks after Williams died.
Despite his association with those Democratic candidates, Williams later said he was a lifelong Republican. In 2009 he was quoted by the Daily Telegraph as accusing President Barack Obama of "following Marxist theory" and "wanting the country to fail". He gave Rush Limbaugh permission to use his recording of the song "Born Free" for the theme to the "Animal Rights Update" on Limbaugh's radio show — in which a portion of the song is then followed by gunfire — saying "Hey, it's fine with me. I love what you're doing with it." The record company later blocked Limbaugh's use of the recording.
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