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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says his wife, actor Cheryl Hines, is not on board with his support for Donald Trump.
Speaking with TMZ, Kennedy said he had endorsed the former president against his wife’s wishes, calling it a “really difficult issue” for her.
“This is the opposite of what she would want to do,” he said. “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, I would say.”
Kennedy said his wife had encouraged him — “out of compassion” — to accept an invitation to meet with Trump after the July assassination attempt.
Kennedy said his wife had encouraged him — “out of compassion” — to accept an invitation to meet with Trump after the July assassination attempt. He said she then attended a meeting he had with Trump to make sure that no “hasty decisions” were made.
“Her trepidation about this and discomfort with this ... were the dominant feelings,” said Kennedy, who suspended his independent bid for president last week after initially seeking the Democratic nomination. “She’s a lifelong Democrat and the idea of me supporting Donald Trump as president was just ... something that she would have never imagined, that she never wanted in her life.”
Hines had released a statement on X after her husband left the race to thank those who worked on his campaign, but the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star made no mention of his support for Trump.
Hines has had to distance herself from her husband’s political stances before, including when he brought up the Holocaust at an anti-vaccine rally.
She also has faced criticism from her peers over Kennedy, with “The West Wing” star Bradley Whitford calling her out last week for staying silent about her husband’s support for Trump. Kennedy told TMZ that he “had to suppress some strong feelings” about Whitford’s comments, which he called “a template for bullying.”
Hines’ disdain for Trump had been clear long before her husband dropped out of the race. Earlier this year, when a Variety reporter asked Kennedy whether he would accept an offer to be Trump’s running mate, he pointed at Hines and said: “I don’t think that my marriage would survive it.”
Hines responded: “I think he’s right.”