Complex sentence: Several times, Kennedy was asked publicly if he was interested in following in his father's footsteps and choosing politics as a career; he replied that he was declining to do so for the time being, but would not rule it out for the future.
Split into simpler sentences: Several times, Kennedy was asked publicly if he was interested in following in his father's footsteps and choosing politics as a career. He replied that he was declining to do so for the time being, but would not rule it out for the future.