Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wasn’t sure about the idea of meeting with Donald Trump, because he thought it would be a “nonstarter” with his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, he told Tucker Carlson in a new interview. But when he called her to talk about it, his wife told him to listen to Trump, he said — and then the couple had an in-person meeting with the former president and his campaign manager, Susie Wiles.
Among the numerous unusual things about the independent presidential candidate is that relationship with Hines, best known for starring on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” She’s even occasionally pushed back against some of her husband’s more controversial views in public — including slamming a statement he made comparing COVID safety regulations to living in Nazi Germany — but now seems to be giving her husband support.
“I had these meetings with President Trump, and they were partly because of you,” Kennedy began the new interview, gesturing toward Carlson. He received a call about meeting with Trump just hours after the former president was shot, Kennedy said.
Watch the full interview below:
Kennedy continued, saying that he was told “there was interest in the Trump campaign by the president of including me. And then he talked about vice president, which I wasn’t interested in.” Trump named JD Vance his vice presidential running mate just two days later ahead of the Republican National Convention.
When asked if he’d be interested in talking with Trump, Kennedy said that he told a campaign representative, “I don’t think so.”
“And then, and part of this was, I just thought it was a nonstarter with Cheryl,” Kennedy explained. “And I called Cheryl up, and she said to me, ‘You should hear them out.’”
Carlson interjected, “Smart.”
Kennedy added that he texted the campaign rep he’d been speaking with back, telling her, “I’m interested.”
“And then I got a text from you — you and I have each other’s cell phones — and you had an unknown cell phone number, which you had linked me into, which was President Trump’s number. And you said, ‘You know, he’s waiting for your call.’”
Kennedy said he called Trump that night and they had a great conversation. He went to meet with Trump the next day, the day after he was shot, when they had a two-year meeting with Trump, Cheryl and both campaigns’ campaign managers.
The recent addition to the Trump team went on to share more details about his conversation and the issues they found common ground on, including working to fight chronic disease among children and stopping censorship.
Their conversation didn’t end with a solid conclusion, but they talked about working together, according to Kennedy.
“Then we put it on hold. They wanted me to do something at the convention, and I said, ‘No — I’m not going to do that,’” Kennedy said.
Kennedy noted that he still had been hoping at that point that he might be able to get into the debate, though he admitted it was a small chance. Kennedy followed up the Trump conversation by reaching out to the Kamala Harris campaign once Joe Biden stepped aside, but Harris declined to meet with him.
You can listen to the full hour-and-a-half discussion between Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tucker Carlson in the video above. They cover a plethora of topics, including the idea of Kennedy being the director of the CIA, the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov and more.
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