RFK Jr., page 31
19“I was dumbstruck”: Alexi Mostrous, “How a Kennedy Became a ‘Superspreader’ of Hoaxes on COVID-19, Vaccines, 5G and More,” Globe and Mail, September 16, 2020.
20“On a recent trip to Standing Rock”: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Waterkeeper Alliance, November 16, 2016.
21“He broke with Riverkeeper”: Author interview with Alex Boyle, January 28, 2025.
22Kennedy and Bigtree, among other CHD “warriors”: Del Bigtree, foreword, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Brian Hooker, Vax-Unvax: Let the Science Speak (Skyhorse Publishing, 2023), xv, xvi.
23“I got to a place where I had to see Sirhan”: “RFK Jr. Seeks Investigation into His Father’s Assassination,” CBS News, May 28, 2018, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/robert-kennedy-jr-seeks-investigation-father-assassination-sirhan-sirhan.
24“Yes, he did shoot me”: Richard Sandomir, “Paul Schrade, 97, Who Was Wounded When Robert Kennedy Was Slain, Dies,” New York Times, November 13, 2022.
25It was Peter Kaplan who had encouraged: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Framed: Why Michael Skakel Spent over a Decade in Prison for a Murder He Did Not Commit (Skyhorse Publishing, 2016), xii.
26“all the objectivity of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”: Theodore Dalrymple, “What’s Up, Doc?,” Claremont Review of Books, Summer 2022.
27“And the thing that makes it even more painful”: Jolie Lash, “Fauci Rips ‘Very Disturbed’ RFK Jr.’s Attacks on His Career: ‘It’s a Shame’ Because He’s a Kennedy,” The Wrap, December 22, 2021, https://www.thewrap.com/dr-fauci-rfk-jr-shame-kennedys-disturbed-individual.
28“Even in Hitler’s Germany”: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Invokes Nazi Germany in Offensive Anti-Vaccine Speech,” CNN, January 24, 2022.
29“We can bow down and comply”: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health (Skyhorse Publishing, 2021), 446.
30“I saw how it was affecting her life”: Caitlin Moscatello, “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Wants to Be President. Cheryl Hines Is Along for the Ride,” New York Times, June 10, 2023.
Chapter 10: “They had no Clue What they were Doing”
1“I’m not an ideal presidential candidate”: Robert Kennedy Jr. Announces 2024 Presidential Campaign, C-SPAN, April 19, 2023.
2“the one place that they couldn’t censor me”: Clare Malone, “What Does Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Actually Want?,” New Yorker, August 5, 2024.
3“I support Bobby”: Caitlin Moscatello, “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Wants to Be President. Cheryl Hines Is Along for the Ride,” New York Times, June 10, 2023.
4“had no clue what they were doing”: Author interview with Hank Sheinkopf, June 24, 2025.
5“During that time I would stay dressed”: Sara Nathan, “Cheryl Hines Opens Up About Her Marriage—and Affair Allegations,” New York Post, November 23, 2025.
6“She’s intelligent and she has a very high opinion”: Author interview with source, October 9, 2025.
7based on Thompson’s bizarre run for sheriff: John Wenzel, “Bobby Kennedy III Lands $300K to Shoot Hunter S. Thompson Movie in Colorado,” Denver Post, December 15, 2016.
8“setting women back decades”: Jacob Bryant, “Larry David’s Ex-Wife Trolls Cheryl Hines for ‘Setting Women Back Decades’ with Her ‘Dutiful, Adoring’ Support of RFK Jr.,” Yahoo News, January 31, 2025.
9“a doctor he trusted”: Olivia Nuzzi, American Canto (Avid Reader Press, 2025), 145.
10Following the brain worm incident: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., diary, November 11, 2001.
11“How to handle such an unprecedented”: Nuzzi, American Canto, 166.
12“But apart from the bear’s age”: Tatiana Schlossberg, “Bear Found in Central Park Was Killed by a Car, Officials Say,” New York Times, October 7, 2014.
13Hines made reference to the Nuzzi affair in her book: Cheryl Hines, Unscripted (Skyhorse Publishing, 2025), 288.
14“It was fragile”: Nuzzi, American Canto, 157.
15“He described how he waited”: Olivia Nuzzi, American Canto, p. 149.
Epilogue: A Work in Progress
1“He thinks like a lawyer”: Source interview with author, November 11, 2025.
2Nuzzi documents: Nuzzi, American Canto (Avid Reader Press, 2025), 166.
3“When he yelled”: Nuzzi, American Canto, 250.
4“As I spent more and more of my life”: Tatiana Schlossberg, “A Battle with My Blood,” The New Yorker, November 22, 2025.
5“There’s a duality in him”: Source interview with the author, June 20, 2025.
6“rooted in their conviction that this country was great”: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., diary, July 25, 2001.
Index
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Achebe, Chinua, 146
adolescence, of RFK Jr. See also education
David and cousin drug use, 63–64
falconry interest, 55–56, 65
Hyannis Port Terrors formation, 63
jeep accident with brother, Joe, 64–65
Lem as surrogate father during, xviii, 51, 52, 62, 87, 219
practical jokes after RFK Sr., death, 50–51, 65, 230–31
troubled relationship with his mother, Ethel, 58–59
Africa trip, of Lem and RFK Jr., 51, 52
RFK Jr., sale of pictures and text to Life, 53–54
Aidan. See Kennedy, Aidan Caomhán
Ailes, Roger, xx, 19
Alabama
Johnson, F., segregation abolishment in, 80–81
RFK Jr., stay in Hayneville, 79–80
RFK Jr. as college student in, xxiii, 18, 78–79
segregation attempt in University of Alabama, 29–30, 78–79
Albright, Madeleine, 142–43
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, of RFK Jr., 93, 145, 160
American Canto (Nuzzi), 231, 238
American Hollow (documentary), of Rory, 130–31
American Values (RFK Jr.), 26, 221
on arrest for spitting ice cream in police officer’s face, 60
on troubled relationship with his mother, Ethel, 58–59
Anastos, George, 64
Andersen, Kurt, 71
ANWR. See Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Apurimac River rafting trip, Peru
The Kennedys portrayal of, 77
Lawford, David, Spooner, Stroud, Fleetwood on, 75–77
of Lem and RFK Jr., 74–77
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), 175
Arlington National Cemetery, JFK and RFK Sr., burial at, 49
Armstrong, Karen, 13
Army-McCarthy hearings, RFK Sr., plan to attack Cohn at, 20–21
arrests, of RFK Jr.
for heroin possession in 1982, 89–91
for selling marijuana to undercover cop, 60
on spitting ice cream in police officer’s face, 60
threatening police officer, 65
assassination, of JFK, xix, 23
Morgenthau with RFK Sr., when Hoover called about, 38, 88
National Archives release of original casket, 131–32
RFK Sr., response to, 38–39
assassination, of RFK Sr., xvii, xviii–xix
Cesar as possible second gunman, 211
children brought to hospital, 47
close friends and family at hospital, 47–48
emergency neurosurgery, 47
Ethel refusal to remarry after, 57
RFK Jr., on second gunman for, 210–11
RFK Jr., remembrance of death and funeral, 47–49
Rory birth after, 56–57
by Sirhan, xxii, 46–47, 210–12
train and Arlington National Cemetery burial, 48–49
assassination attempt and paralysis, of Wallace, 80
Australia, Caroline as former ambassador to, xi
autism, vaccine-related, xiii, 181–83, 204–5
Bacall, Lauren, 31
Bad Boy lion cub, of RFK Jr., 54–55
Bailey, Mark, 121, 132–35
Barnett, Ross, 27
Barry, Bill, 46
Bay of Pigs operation (April 1961), 27–28
Beck, Dave, 22
de Becker, Gavin, 223–25
Belafonte, Harry, 31
Bennett, Joan, 107
Bernard, Ena, 62–63
Berrios, Ruben, 8, 9
Bessette, Carolyn. See Kennedy, Carolyn Bessette
Bessette, Lauren, 138
Bhutto, Murtaza, 72
Biden, Joe, 226
Bigtree, Del, 207
Billings, Kirk LeMoyne “Lem”
absent in Ted presidential campaign, 86
Africa trip with RFK Jr., 51–54
Apurimac River in Peru rafting trip with RFK Jr., 74–75
death of, 87
drug use with RFK Jr., 74, 86
Egypt trip with RFK Jr., 54–55
as JFK friend in school, 51
Joe reference to as son, 51–52
Palfrey Street School enrollment for RFK Jr., 66
RFK Jr., recommendation for Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University, 70
as surrogate father to RFK Jr., xviii, 51, 52, 62, 87, 219
visit with RFK Jr., at Millbrook, 59
Black, Emily. See Kennedy, Emily Black
Bobby III or Bobby 3. See Kennedy, Robert Francis, III
Bobby Sr. See Kennedy, Robert F., Sr.
Bonaparte, Napoleon, Schom biography of, 13
Bouvier, Jacqueline. See Kennedy, Jacqueline Bouvier
Boyle, Robert Hamilton, Jr., 107, 122, 146, 241
of HRFA and Hudson Preservation Conference, 96
Riverkeepers and Wegner, 151–53
Brawley, Tawana, 7
Bridges, Sarah, xxi, 182–83, 203–4
Brode, Joanne, 66–67
Brown v. Board of Education (1954), on illegal segregation, 26
Buddha (Armstrong), 13
Burgos, Norma, 2–4, 16
Bush, George W., 159, 168
RFK Jr., lack of respect for September 11, 179
on stop to Vieques bombings, 173–74
Buttafuoco, Joey, 104
Buttafuoco, Mary Jo, 104
Caroline. See Kennedy, Caroline
Carolyn. See Kennedy, Carolyn Bessette
Carter, Jimmy, 5–6
Castro, Fidel, xix
Bay of Pigs operation to topple, 28
Operation Mongoose to undermine, 28
Catskill Watershed Corporation, Ruzow of, 104
Cavendish, William “Billy,” Kick marriage to, 102
death of, 102
CDC. See Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
conference on vaccinations safety, 205
RFK Jr., purge of vaccine advisory panel of, 235–36
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Whitehouse, S., concern for RFK Jr., lack of support for, 235
Cesar, Thane Eugene, 211
Chappaquiddick, Kopechne drowning at, xxv, 60–61, 86
Chavez, Cesar
Kennedy family relationship with, 6
RFK Sr., presidential campaign support, 45
Cheryl. See Kennedy, Cheryl Hines
Chicago Merchandise Mart, Joe ownership of, 35–36, 139, 162
childhood, of RFK Jr.
Bad Boy lion cub for, 54–55
on Bernard as nanny, 62–63
birth of, 19
Caroline on, xxi
in Colombia on ranch, 62
description of idyllic, 22
falconry interest, xviii, 31–32
Hickory Hill mansion, 22–23, 26, 30–31, 58
Hyannis Port memories, 23–24
interest in animals and nature, 31–33
JFK death remembrance, 38–39
JFK presidential campaign memories, 25–26
Jimmy sea lion gift, 31–32
listening to Hyannis Port meetings, 26
powerful adults relationships, 30–31
public service ambition, 19
requirement to read current affairs, 22
RFK Sr., assassination and funeral remembrances, 47–49
at RFK Sr., Senate hearings, 21–22
Udall meeting, 31
Children’s Health Defense, anti-vaccine group, xxi, 203
Meta shut down for medical misinformation, 220
RFK Jr., work for, 206, 208
Chile, RFK Jr., and Fleetwood shot at during ski trip in, 72–74
Civil Rights Act (1964), 41
Clean Water Act (1972), Tuck Tape company violations of, 95
Clear Choice legal challenge, to RFK Jr., independent presidential candidacy, 232–33
Clearwater Initiative, of Seeger, 95
Clearwater sloop, of Seeger, 95
Clinton, Bill, xx, 156–57
impeachment of, 147
at John Jr., funeral, 139
Lewinsky affair, 147
Pardongate controversy, 165–67
RFK Jr., criticism of, 165–66
Vieques bombings temporary halt by, 10
Clinton, Hillary, xx
ask for RFK Jr., political support, 129–30
as critic of Sharpton and Jackson, Jesse, 7
at John Jr., funeral, 139
visit to RFK Jr., in prison, 3, 17
Clinton, Roger, Jr., 166
Close, Glenn, 176, 188–89
CMS. See Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
coal and coke business, of Skakel, G., Sr., 33–34
Cochran, Johnnie, 4
Cohn, Roy
pursuit of Communists in US Army, 21
RFK Sr., friction with, 20
as Trump mentor, 20
Colacello, Bob, 111
Coles, Robert, 82
Colley, Ann, 181
Colley, Bruce, 181, 240
Collier, Peter, 77
David interview with, 91–92
Collins, Francis, 208
Communism
Cohn pursuit of Communists in US Army, 21
MLK connection to, xxv, 25
RFK Sr., focus on, xix, 20–21
Rosenberg, E., and Rosenberg, J., prosecution and execution, 20
Communist Poland, RFK Sr., controversial trip to, 39–41
Congress in Massachusetts, JFK run for, 38
Conor. See Kennedy, Conor
Consolidated Edison power plant, on Hudson River, 96–97
Corretjer, Juan Antonio, 10
Courtney. See Kennedy, Courtney
COVID-19 vaccinations
Children’s Health Defense and Informed Consent Action Network against, 208–9
Emergency Use Authorization, of FDA, 224
Fauci and, 208–9
ivermectin and, 224
Cristobal, Angel Rodriguez, 9–10
Cronin, John, 107, 117–18
as HRFA riverkeeper, 96
Hudson River environmental activism, 94–102
RFK Jr. relationship end, 121–22, 146, 150–51
Cuban Missile Crisis, xix, xxv
RFK Sr. role in, 27–29
Cuomo, Andrew, xx, 12
bid for governor of New York, 167–68
as governor of New York, 103
Kerry separation and divorce from, 181, 240
Cuomo, Mario, 181
RFK Jr., and Rivera Vieques trial defense, 12, 15–16, 103
Curb Your Enthusiasm (television show)
David, Larry, and, 164, 174, 200
Hines in, 163–64, 188, 201
Dakota Access Pipeline, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and, 206
David. See Kennedy, David
David, Larry, 122, 164, 174, 200
David, Laurie, 122, 164, 174
“Deadly Immunity” (RFK Jr.), 205
Democrats
Joe connections and importance to, 36
RFK Jr., disillusionment and break from, xiii, xx, 167–68, 173, 215–20, 232
diaries, of RFK Jr.
on duality, 243
financial disclosures in, 238–39
on funeral attendance, 242
on notable figures, 238
Post publication of, xiv–xv
during Puerto Rico imprisonment, xxiii–xxiv, 1–18
study of, 236–43
taken by Mary, xiv–xvi, 191, 193
womanizing references, xiv–xvi, 13, 93, 239–40
DiCaprio, Leonardo, 172
Dinkins, David, 103, 104
Doar, John, xix, 82
Douglas, William O., 31
Draco Rosa, Robi, 9
Driscoll, Mary, 20
drugs, RFK Jr., and
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings of, 93, 145, 160
Andersen purchase at Harvard University, 71
Caroline on encouragement of, xi
continued use during presidential campaign of Ted, 86
expulsion from Millbrook boarding school, 55, 58
in Harlem with David, Michael and John Jr., 89
heroin and cocaine use, at Harvard University, 71
heroin possession arrest in 1982, xxii, 90–91
heroin use with David and Kelleys, 66
Horowitz on, 66
Hyannis Port Terrors and experimentation with, 63
introduction of heroin to David, 66
Lem use with, 74, 86
LSD use, 65
marijuana and cocaine in Hayneville, Alabama, 79
memoir on addiction to, 87
presidential campaign reference to, 219
in Summit Oaks Hospital, New Jersey drug rehabilitation, 90–91
use and dealing at Harvard University, 70–71
use of psychedelic drugs, 236
DuPont, RFK Jr., class action suit against, 184
Dutton, Fred, 46
education, of RFK Jr.
admitted to New York State Bar in 1985, 89
bar exam failing in 1982, 89
few weeks at London School of Economics, 84
Georgetown Prep high school, 59, 62
at Harvard University, 69, 70–71
Johnson, F., thesis focus, 80–81
Lazell at Palfrey School influence on, 67–68
Lem enrollment at Palfrey Street School, 66
living with Brode while at Palfrey Street School, 66–67
