Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. suspended his 2024 presidential campaign on Friday and, in the process, announced that he is endorsing Donald Trump. The latter decision led members of the Kennedy clan – who already were not in favor of his third-party White House bid – to claim he had “betrayed” their family values by supporting the Republican nominee.
Meanwhile, Kennedy’s wife, actress Cheryl Hines, went a different route in her reaction. The Curb Your Enthusiasm star chose not to address her husband’s decision to support Trump, instead focusing on what she called an “eye-opening, transformative, and endearing journey.” What the statement did or did not say led to an onslaught of backlash on social media, including from Hines’ tinseltown colleagues.
On Monday’s show, Megyn was joined by Victor Davis Hanson, author of The Case For Trump, to discuss the overwrought reaction to Kennedy’s endorsement and Hines’ response.
Cheryl Hines Speaks
Kennedy has been open on The Megyn Kelly Show and elsewhere about the negative impact his political ambitions have had on his immediate family, specifically Hines. The actress remained a largely apolitical presence in his campaign, but she did acknowledge his decision to end his run with a tweet on Friday afternoon.
“I’d like to extend a sincere, deeply heartfelt thank you to every person who has worked so tirelessly and lovingly on his campaign. They have accomplished feats that were said to be impossible,” Hines wrote, in part. “Over the last year and a half, I have met some extraordinary people from all parties — Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. It’s been my experience that the vast majority of all parties are truly good people who want the best for our country and for each other. It has been an eye-opening, transformative, and endearing journey.”
Kennedy later re-posted his wife’s statement and once again nodded to how challenging his run has been. “I am so grateful to my amazing wife Cheryl for her unconditional love, as I made a political decision with which she is very uncomfortable,” he tweeted. “I wish this also for the country — love and unity even in the face of disagreement. We will need that in coming times.”
As Megyn explained, Hines was clearly trying to strike a specific tone in her remarks and she was “perfect” in doing so. “She is brilliant, she is very funny, and she put out a very middle-of-the-road, ambiguous statement,” she noted. “It was loving toward him, but she didn’t take a political position once he withdrew and endorsed Trump.”
The Backlash
But that was not enough for many on the left, including fellow actor Bradley Whitford who called her out on X. “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,” he tweeted. “Gutsy. Great example for the kids. Profile in courage.”
Megyn called a “Hollywood tool” and joked that the actor, who starred as a deputy chief of staff on the White House drama The West Wing, “thinks he actually is a politician as a result.” She said he was off-base in his attacks. “The wife must be brought down, too,” she asked. “You and I both know if Cheryl Hines said anything stronger than what she did, her career would be over. It might be over already.”
While the reaction was melodramatic, Hanson said it is to be expected. “That is what the left does because they control the institutions… [of] Silicon Valley, social media, traditional media, K through 12 academia, entertainment, Hollywood, professional sports,” he explained. “They have this whole Iron Dome over them and they can exercise all sorts of direct and covert pressures.”
As he explained, what Kennedy and Hines are facing from family, friends, and peers is what many Americans deal with daily. “Even where I work… if you are overtly for Trump, and you’re not shy about it, and you try to defend positions that have been misinterpreted, you are socially ostracized and you are culturally ostracized,” Hanson shared. “They create an atmosphere among friends and families where they think it is socially unacceptable, it is a cultural black mark against your name that you would stoop to to support this ignoramus.”
Hanson said he knows the game first hand. “I have lost maybe 50 or 60 close friends… I have lost family… and I am not unique,” he concluded. “They try to destroy families, they destroy friendships… and it’s something that is really scary.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Hanson by tuning in to episode 870 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.