Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, didn’t want him to endorse former President Donald Trump.
Mr. Kennedy said in a TMZ Live interview Tuesday that Hs. Hines was the “opposite of encouraging.”
He said his wife is not a supporter of the former president and that his endorsement of Mr. Trump has been a “difficult issue” for her and brought her “discomfort.”
“This is 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,” he said.
Ms. Hines is a “lifelong Democrat,” he said, and “the idea of me supporting Donald Trump as president was, like I said, it was something she would have never imagined, something that she never wanted in her life.”
“I’m very grateful to her for giving me support, but she was not somebody who was clamoring for this move. I would say the opposite is true,” he said.
The former independent presidential candidate suspended his campaign Friday and endorsed Mr. Trump. After endorsing him, Mr. Kennedy agreed to work on Mr. Trump’s transition team.
Ms. Hines was called out for staying “silent” in an X post by actor Bradley Whitford.
“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,” his post said. “Gutsy. Great example for the kids. Profile in courage.”
When asked how he felt about his wife being attacked, Mr. Kennedy said he had to “suppress some strong feelings about that.”
“It’s a template for bullying,” he said. “Here you have a guy and instead of challenging me, he’s attacking my wife. Who would do that? What kind of person, what kind of man would do that?”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.