Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday said people need to lay off his wife, Cheryl Hines, over his recent endorsement of Donald Trump — even as he revealed she was the one who urged him to meet with the GOP candidate in the first place.
Hines most decidedly does not support Trump, RFK Jr. told TMZ Live, though he admitted it was Hines who advised him to answer the Trump camp’s phone call when they reached out hours after the July 13 assassination attempt.
“I said, ‘I don’t think so,’” RFK Jr. said on “The Tucker Carlson Show” earlier this week. “Part of this was that I thought this was a nonstarter with Cheryl.”
But Kennedy then called Hines to ask her advice, and she told him to “hear them out, out of compassion,” he told Carlson.
“It was an emotional night for our country, it was an emotional night for everyone,” he said.
Hines also attended the meeting, he revealed, “to make sure that there were no hasty decisions made.”
Last week, Kennedy announced he was suspending his presidential campaign and would endorse Trump — a political decision he said made Hines “very uncomfortable.”
Many have speculated that Trump could reward Kennedy for his support with a cabinet position should the former president return to power.
“It’s a really difficult issue for Cheryl,” RFK Jr. told TMZ. “It’s the opposite of what she would want to do. She went along with it because she loves me and she wanted to be supportive of me. But it was not something that she ever encouraged.”
When prompted, he had plenty to say about a viral tweet from “West Wing” actor Bradley Whitford blasting the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actress.
“Hey @CherylHines, way to stay silent while your lunatic husband throws his support behind the adjudicated rapist who brags about stripping women of their fundamental rights,” Whitford wrote on Saturday. “Gutsy. Great example for the kids. Profile in courage.”
Hey @CherylHines, way to stay silent while your lunatic husband throws his support behind the adjudicated rapist who brags about stripping women of their fundamental rights. Gutsy. Great example for the kids. Profile in courage. https://t.co/DrhXY3npcF
— Bradley Whitford (@BradleyWhitford) August 24, 2024
“It’s a template for bullying,” RFK Jr. told TMZ. “Instead of challenging me, he’s attacking my wife. Who would do that? What kind of person, what kind of man, would do that? Like many people who point fingers and accuse other people of bullying women, that’s exactly what he was doing there.”