Cheryl Hines snaps at 'The View' hosts over claims RFK Jr is 'least qualified' to lead HHS

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Tensions ran high on 'The View' on Tuesday, October 14, between Cheryl Hines, wife of Robert F Kennedy Jr, and co-host Sunny Hostin.

The two got into a heated exchange over whether Hines’ husband is fit to serve as Health Secretary.

Cheryl Hines and Sunny Hostin clash on 'The View'

Cheryl Hines’ appearance on 'The View' started light, but quickly turned tense as the conversation shifted to her husband, Robert F Kennedy Jr, and his controversial views.

In response, Hines defended her husband’s experience by pointing to his decades-long legal work focused on public health and environmental issues.

“He has dedicated his career to suing big corporations because of toxins that have been affecting people's health…,” she said. “He was part of the team that sued Monsanto because of Roundup, a pesticide that was causing cancer. GMOs right? He sued Dupont, he sued Exxon, and he sued these companies for health reasons, because they were causing health problems."

However, co-host Sunny Hostin, 56, challenged Kennedy’s qualifications. “But the problem, respectfully, is that your husband is the least qualified Department of Health and Human Services head that we've had in history,” Hostin said.

Taken aback, Hines fired back, “Less qualified than an economist?” To which Hostin responded, "I think he is less qualified."

Hines defended, "He has spent his career studying toxins, studying people's health, fighting for one guy who was using Roundup for his job."

Hostin didn’t hold back, saying Kennedy has "also spread a lot of misinformation, a lot of chaos, a lot of confusion. And I think it's just a very dangerous thing. I say it with the utmost respect.” Her comments drew applause from the audience.

The conversation grew even more intense when Hines tried to defend Kennedy’s qualifications to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Trying to respond, Hines pushed back: “Listen, we all have different views here. And when you say misinformation, disinformation, we could go back to Covid when…”

Before she could finish her thought, Hostin interrupted: “He’s connected circumcision to autism.”

Visibly frustrated, Hines snapped, “May I finish?” Soon, a co-host of 'The View' Joy Behar interrupted by asking, "Does he or does he not have a brain worm?”

“It ate just a little bit of his brain and died, so don’t worry,” Hines replied.

Interview between Cheryl Hines and co-hosts on 'The View' began with a smile

The interview began with host Sara Haines asking how she met Kennedy. Hines smiled and described him as “completely different from anyone I had ever met in my life.” That marked the only lighthearted moment of the segment.

Joy Behar chimed in sarcastically, “That’s for sure,” before co-host Sunny Hostin steered the discussion into more serious territory.

Hostin asked Hines how she felt about Kennedy suspending his presidential campaign and endorsing Donald Trump. “Did you share any concerns that you may have had about that?” she asked pointedly.

Hines stumbled through her answer, repeating that she always shares her concerns with her husband but added, “I have not been a political person.”

As the interview continued, each co-host took turns pressing Hines on Kennedy’s controversial health claims and political choices. Hines, at times flustered, echoed several of her husband’s most criticized positions, especially his skepticism about vaccines and medications like Tylenol during pregnancy.

Former Trump aide Alyssa Farah Griffin asked Hines how she would respond to women who feel anxious when medical advice from professionals clashes with statements made by Kennedy. Hines answered cautiously: “They said consult your doctor before taking it.” However, she avoided addressing Kennedy’s more direct warning, where he told women, “Don’t take Tylenol… there’s no downside in not taking it.”

Hines also repeated one of Kennedy’s talking points about childhood vaccinations. “Can we listen to parents who say, my child got the vaccine and changed and stopped hitting markers, stopped developing the way they were developing—can we listen to people when they say that?’” she asked, defending the idea that such stories deserve attention, despite lacking scientific evidence.

When the topic turned to Covid-19 vaccines, Hines claimed that both Trump and Kennedy Jr support public access to vaccinations, even though the Trump administration recently restricted who can receive them. Her comment visibly frustrated the co-hosts.