TV star wife of Democrat hopeful Robert Kennedy Jr begs Joe Biden to provide Secret Service protection – after armed gunman was detained at campaign event

The wife of US presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Junior has accused Joe Biden of endangering her husband’s life by withholding Secret Service protection.

Curb Your Enthusiasm actress Cheryl Hines has begged the president to intervene and provide security after an armed gunman was arrested at an RFK Jr campaign event last month.

In her first television interview, she said: “President Biden, I understand you don’t want to run against my husband, but that is indeed what is happening.

“And as a person, I ask you to protect his life – him and the people around him.

RFK Jr, 69, admitted that the name Kennedy meant he was taking “risks” in his run for the White House in an interview with The Mail on Sunday earlier this year.

Both his father, Robert Kennedy, and his uncle, John F Kennedy, were assassinated during their political careers.

RFK Jr was just nine years old when his uncle Jack was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.

Tragedy struck again when their father Robert F. Kennedy was shot in June 1968 while running for president.

The New York senator was shot by Sirhan Sirhan in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Kennedy Jr., then only 14 years old, rushed to be at his side.

Now Kennedy Jr. his own bid for power – and he says the dangers are clear.

And last month, the Democratic presidential candidate was speaking at a Hispanic Heritage Month event in Los Angeles when an armed suspect posing as a U.S. marshal was arrested.

The shooter has been arrested and charges are expected.

The incident took place less than two miles from where Kennedy Jr.’s father died. was murdered in 1968.

Cheryl, 58, said: ‘A man turned up at the event with loaded guns and more guns in his backpack.

“And luckily Bobby has security that the campaign has to pay for, who identified that person and held him until the police came.

“But it’s quite shocking that Biden didn’t come out after that event and say, ‘OK, I understand this is an extraordinary situation.’

“It’s very disappointing and sad to say the least because Biden is clearly making it political… you’re talking about someone’s safety and someone’s life. So it’s very disappointing.”

It is normal for US presidents to sanction Service Security for presidential candidates, but much closer to the elections themselves, which will take place in November next year.

However, RFK Jr and Cheryl believe his family background means he needs extra protection – and immediately.

Kennedy Jr. is a controversial figure thanks to his record of vaccine skepticism and his opposition to US military aid in Ukraine.

After an initial wave of popularity, Kennedy Junior is now well behind Joe Biden in the race for the Democratic nomination.

However, he could well become the figure king, and a recent YouGov poll suggested a healthy 17 percent of voters would support him as an independent.

Cheryl, who has been married to Robert for nine years, says she plans to be by his side in the upcoming campaign, which could be huge given her recognition as an actress.

Still, she reveals that the presidential candidate offered to issue a press release saying the couple had split to “protect” her from the backlash.

She said: ‘I said, ‘That’s ridiculous! That is not a solution for anything. So let’s abandon that idea!’

“I love Bobby and yes, sometimes I get frustrated. But that is very different from wanting to be separated from someone.

“In some ways it was a sweet thought, but misleading, as if that wasn’t the answer.”

• Daphne Barak is an interviewer and documentary maker, whose subjects include Nelson Mandela, Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton and Michael Jackson. Her exclusive interview with Cheryl Hines and Robert F Kennedy Jr will be featured in a documentary, The Next Kennedy, produced by Daphne Barak and Erbil Gunasti, due out early next year.