West Wing star Bradley Whitford has lashed out at actress Cheryl Hines for failing to condemn her husband’s endorsement of Donald Trump. The actor, who played the White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the political drama, tweeted criticism of Hines, saying she should not stay silent while her “lunatic husband throws his support behind the adjudicated rapist who brags about stripping women of their fundamental rights.”
Video footage of Donald Trump touting his successes in the anti-abortion cause and his part in overturning Roe v Wade accompanied the post. Mr. Whitford is a long-term Democrat supporter and threw his weight behind Kamala Harris early on.
While not mentioning abortion or any political issue, Hines issued a short statement when her husband backed the Trump campaign and said she respected his decision. She called for unity and said that throughout Kennedy’s Presidential campaign, she met wonderful people from all parties and political persuasions, and most of them were good people with the country’s best interests at heart.
In response, Mr. Kennedy tweeted that he was grateful for his wife’s unconditional love as he reached a decision that made her “very uncomfortable.” He said this demonstrates what he hopes to restore in America—unity despite political differences.
Other family members were less understanding, and Kennedy’s sister Kerry issued a strong rebuke. She said she was “disgusted” by her brother’s choice, which she described as “obscene.” The human rights attorney declared that she “completely” disavowed and dissociated from Mr. Kennedy, who had “desecrated” their father’s memory. Their father was the late US Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and their uncle was former President John F. Kennedy.
The family also includes sisters Rory Kennedy and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and brothers Joseph P. Kennedy and Max Kennedy. In a media op-ed, Max Kennedy described Donald Trump as “exactly the kind of arrogant, entitled bully” that their father spent his career opposing. He said Kamala Harris represents Senator Kennedy’s values and will bring “decency, dignity, equality, democracy and justice” to America.
Robert F. Kennedy suspended his independent election campaign and joined Donald Trump at an Arizona rally on August 23.