Cheryl Hines teamed up with first lady Melania Trump and second daughter Usha Vance on Monday, but not everyone was happy about it.
The 60-year-old actress met with deployed military families at Joint Base Andrews in Prince George’s County, Maryland, as part of the American Red Cross’ military families program. Wearing a turtleneck sweater embroidered with the American flag, she was photographed helping assemble care packages to be sent overseas.
It’s no surprise that Hines appears alongside politicians’ wives, given that she is married to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But Hollywood friends are reportedly disappointed and stunned by Hines’ switch from liberal to conservative MAGA views.
The Daily Mail reported in October that one of Hines’ longtime friends said he doesn’t talk to her about politics because it “just goes south.”
“It seems like she’s gone MAGA, or at least MAHA. This is really…beyond comprehension to me,” they told the outlet.
“She used to be very liberal, so it’s very hard to wrap her head around it,” another source said. “And now she’s married to a member of the Trump administration and is literally defending his ridiculous statements on The View.”
The source brought up a tense moment on “The View” in October in which Hines reacted to co-host Sunny Hostin calling Kennedy “the most unqualified Secretary of Health and Human Services in history.”
The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” alum countered, “He’s spent his career studying toxins, studying people’s health, and fighting for one guy who was using Roundup at his job.”
Hines mentioned that her husband’s previous job was as a lawyer. Kennedy represented a school groundskeeper who claimed he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma due to the use of Roundup herbicide. In this 2018 case, our client was ultimately awarded $289 million in damages.
Hines recently spoke to Page Six about her difficult time in the spotlight, including her sexting scandal with her husband, journalist Olivia Nuzzi.
“I went through a lot of darkness, and it wasn’t just because of politics,” Hines said. “I lost my nephew last year. It was heartbreaking. And it was a dark time for me to deal with that loss while this new turmoil was going on.”
She added, “But I’m definitely entering a new chapter that I never expected to be in.”
She also reflected on why she stood by her husband of 11 years.
“Bobby, and being his wife, there are two extremes on both sides, because there are so many people who really love and support him, and no matter what he accomplishes, there are still people who criticize him,” Hines said, adding that she “thought it was important” to say in her “unscripted” memoir, “That’s why I love him.”
“This is who he is and this is who we are to each other,” she continued. “If I just tell the truth about what I’ve been through, it makes me feel better because it’s my own words and I can’t get it wrong.”
