NEED TO KNOW
Cheryl Hines says she was met with a range of reactions from friends when her husband, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., suspended his presidential campaign last year and threw his full support behind President Donald Trump as he ran for a second term.
Hines, 60, sat down for an interview with the president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who is married to his son Eric Trump. In an exclusive clip from their conversation below, which was shared with PEOPLE before the interview airs, Lara asks Hines how those close to her responded when Kennedy fully embraced MAGA.
“He originally ran for president as a Democrat, and then that comes to an end and he says, ‘I’m actually going to support the Republican candidate for president, but not just any Republican candidate, Donald Trump,’ ” Lara, 43, says in the clip.
“Did you hear from people, did you suddenly not hear from people? How did that go for you?” Lara asks the Curb Your Enthusiasm actress, who laughs.
“I heard from people,” Hines replies. “You know what, I was actually grateful for my good friends that had feelings about it, still have feelings about it, but at least would call me and say, ‘I can’t believe this is happening, you can’t let this happen!’ ”
She adds, “I would rather that than somebody who I’ve known for 30 years just stop talking to me altogether.”
Hines tells Lara, “I’ve experienced it all. And then I have some really good friends that, you know, we have thoughtful discussions where it’s, you know, you can say, ‘Wow, here’s something that happened that I didn’t like, that still bothers me, and here’s something that’s happening that I think is good.’ ”
Hines says those friends could “see both sides and it’s not black and white,” adding, “So I really appreciate those people.”
Lara’s full interview with Hines will air on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 9 p.m. ET during FOX News Channel’s My View with Lara Trump.
Hines has been embarking on a media tour to promote her new book Unscripted, and has been more outspoken than ever about her husband’s relationship with the president, who selected Kennedy to serve as his secretary of health and human services.
While appearing on The View last month, Hines said she was initially “guarded” about Kennedy’s decision to support President Trump.
“I have not been a political person,” she said. “I haven’t posted anything on social media, other than to go out and vote. I never told people who they should vote for. I just said, ‘This is important, you should vote.’ ”
“So with Bobby, that was a very difficult decision to make with President Trump,” she said. “At the end of the day, President Trump and Bobby sat down and talked, and yes, they did have a lot of common goals.”
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Kennedy and Trump have paired up to push the MAHA movement, or “Make America Healthy Again,” under which Kennedy has pushed numerous unproven claims and fired multiple health experts. The HHS secretary has falsely promoted links between both Tylenol use and early circumcision with autism, and has continued to question the efficacy and need for major vaccines.
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
While appearing on The View, Hines insisted both her husband and the president “want access to vaccines” when questioned about Kennedy’s anti-vaccine stance by co-host Sunny Hostin.
A source previously told PEOPLE that Hines “was very unhappy with this decision to join the Trump wagon,” but was “making the best of it,” because “she loves Bobby.” The couple, who wed in 2014, have been pictured together at multiple White House events in the last year. Hines has been present at her husband’s confirmation hearings and his swearing in, and appeared at the president’s inauguration in January.
