Cheryl Hines was front and center at Donald Trump’s inaugural events, after previously criticizing the president and distancing herself from MAGA world.
Though she along with other spouses of Cabinet nominees wasn’t seated on the dais during the swearing-in, the Curb Your Enthusiasm actress stuck by her husband, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for the rest of the day and at the inaugural balls.
RFK Jr., the former Democratic presidential candidate turned Trump supporter, is the president’s nominee for secretary of health and human services. Openly critical of vaccines and fluoride in drinking water, he created the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.
Hines was seated at the inaugural lunch with her husband, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and Sens. Thom Tillis, Chris Coons, and Lisa Murkowski. She also posed for selfies the night before at the Candlelight Dinner at the National Building Museum in a black Ramona Keveza dress.
The actress made the rounds the night of the inauguration at her husband’s MAHA ball, and was onstage when RFK Jr. brought out the singer Jewel as a surprise guest to perform “Over the Rainbow.”
Hines’ newfound apparent acceptance of Trump comes after a tumultuous year for the Kennedys. In late August, RFK Jr. endorsed Trump after his failed presidential bid, which put Hines, a longtime Democrat, in an awkward position.
As recently as August, she called Trump “ridiculous and disrespectful” in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. She added that she learned to let go of her animosity toward Trump while on the campaign trail with her husband.
“I was holding on so tightly for so long,” she said. “Even when Trump was elected, I had to really have a long talk with myself because I thought, ‘I’m not going to make it through these four years.‘”
