LAS VEGAS — Supporters of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the battleground state of Nevada are troubled by reports of his sexting scandal, but it's good news for Donald Trump, the presidential candidate he supports.
Kennedy, 70, was the headliner at Trump's “Restore America” rally in Las Vegas on Saturday night, drawing a standing-room only crowd that was oblivious to or unaware of the shocking allegations.
“I'm not familiar with the issue. I'm familiar with a lot of the issues, but that issue is new to me,” said Ken Czech, a local resident who was wearing a “Kennedy 24” T-shirt in honor of Kennedy, a descendant of the Kennedy family who ran unsuccessfully for president as an independent in November.
Kennedy, 70, is married to “Crazy Love” actress Cheryl Hines, 59, but new revelations are sparking an allegedly sordid sexting relationship with New York magazine's star political reporter Olivia Nuzzi, 31.
Czech said he was more interested in Kennedy's efforts to help Trump create a “unity party.”
Former Las Vegas court reporter Christine Johnson also said the coverage of the scandal doesn't mean much to her.
“I support RFK, and whatever his article is, that's fine,” she said of the politician, who supported Trump after dropping out of the race. “People are going to make their own interpretation of it.”
Former U.S. Army First Sergeant and contractor Charles Atwood Hightower said those who criticized Kennedy's private life should “go die.”
“Your private life is your private life,” Hightower said. “God gave you that right.”
Retired judge Charles Weinberg slammed the sexting story as a joke.
“I mean, there's so much propaganda and disinformation out there right now. I think this guy is the real deal,” he said of Kennedy.
Redlands, California, attorney Gregory Brittain said that if Kennedy, who is married, was “making advances to other women, that would be inappropriate.”
But “nobody is perfect, and it's Democrats who insist on doing right by women and minorities who are the real racists and sexists,” Brittain said.
The event, hosted by race car driver Danica Patrick at a Las Vegas recreation center, marked Kennedy's first public appearance since the scandal broke last week.
he Did not deal with At the event.
However, he was wearing his wedding ring, while Hines was reported to have been without it for at least part of a trip to Italy around the same time.
Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat and congresswoman from Hawaii, attended the Trump rally with Kennedy in what is expected to be a tough battle with Democratic candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Gabbard told The Washington Post that she expects such “interference” to increase as Election Day approaches.
“This cabal of the elitist and permanent Washington establishment, the military-industrial complex, the national security state and the power elite, is so terrified that President Trump will win this election that they will continue to do what they've been doing for years and do everything they can to stop it,” she said.
“I know that Bobby Kennedy is as committed as I am to saving this country,” Gabbard said.
“President Trump is focused on his mission to save the country and he will not allow anyone to get in the way.”
