KEY POINTS
- RFK Jr is the son of Robert Francis Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 whereas working for the Democratic nomination for president
- Nuzzi has change into a high-profile American journalist and tv pundit.
- The pair had been each in relationships on the time of the alleged messages
Olivia Nuzzi, Washington correspondent for New York journal, has admitted to “sexting” US Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. whereas overlaying the 2024 marketing campaign. In a disclosure to the journal, Nuzzi revealed that she had “engaged in a private relationship with a former topic related to the marketing campaign.” Nonetheless, she didn’t initially identify Kennedy. The 31-year-old political reporter said that whereas the character of a few of her communications with the 70-year-old Kennedy scion turned private, the connection was not bodily.
RFK Jr.’s Controversial 2024 Marketing campaign
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of the late Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, launched an impartial 2024 presidential marketing campaign that failed to realize important traction. His controversial positions, notably relating to vaccinations, alienated many mainstream voters. Final month, Kennedy unofficially dropped out of the race, endorsing Donald Trump and urging his supporters to again the previous president within the upcoming election.
Nuzzi’s Excessive-Profile Profession and the RFK Interview
Nuzzi has risen to prominence as a journalist and TV pundit identified for her sharp political evaluation. One in every of her newer items included a peculiar interview with Donald Trump, throughout which he invited her to examine his ear, which he claimed had been injured in an assassination try. Nuzzi described the surreal second in her article: “An ear had by no means appeared to have gone via much less.”
Her work with Kennedy was much less lighthearted. Throughout a prolonged profile of RFK Jr. for New York journal, Nuzzi visited his $6.6 million (£5 million) Brentwood mansion, which he shares along with his third spouse, actress Cheryl Hines. They went mountain climbing collectively within the Santa Monica mountains, and Nuzzi’s report delved into Kennedy’s mannerisms, persona, and political views. On the time, her relationship with Kennedy had allegedly change into extra private, although Nuzzi didn’t point out this in her article.
Journal’s Response to the Scandal
New York journal has positioned Nuzzi on depart and launched a third-party evaluate of her work. In a be aware to readers, the journal defined that her relationship with Kennedy violated their conflict-of-interest insurance policies. “Had the journal been conscious of this relationship, she wouldn’t have continued to cowl the presidential marketing campaign,” the publication said whereas noting {that a} evaluate of her printed work discovered “no inaccuracies nor proof of bias.”
The journal expressed remorse for violating readers’ belief and reaffirmed their dedication to upholding journalistic requirements.
The Engagement with Ryan Lizza and Fallout
On the time of her inappropriate messages with Kennedy, Nuzzi was engaged to Ryan Lizza, a political journalist and Playbook co-author at Politico. Lizza, who has coated each presidential election since 2000 and reported extensively on the presidencies of Invoice Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, turned engaged to Nuzzi in 2022. Nonetheless, the couple reportedly known as off their marriage simply weeks earlier than the information of her communications with RFK Jr. turned public.
RFK Jr.’s Marital Historical past and Infidelity
Whereas the scandal has targeted totally on Nuzzi, Kennedy has additionally confronted scrutiny. Married to Cheryl Hines since 2014, RFK Jr. was beforehand accused of extramarital affairs throughout his second marriage to Mary Richardson, which resulted in 2010. Kennedy himself has overtly acknowledged his previous infidelities, confessing in diary entries that his “lust demons” had been his “biggest defect” and contributed to the breakdown of his marriage.