Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was confronted directly by Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum Wednesday about his alleged personal relationship with a prominent reporter for New York magazine, Olivia Nuzzi.
Kennedy was talking up Donald Trump and a possible public health role in the Trump administration when he claimed, “I have a very good life now and I don’t need the job.”
That prompted anchor Martha MacCallum to move onto Kennedy’s personal life, describing how he is “surrounded by scandals and old stories that keep coming up about animals,” referencing reports on Kennedy’s history with dead whales and bears.
Nodding to an alleged “inappropriate relationship” with Nuzzi, MacCallum asked, “What do you say to your supporters who question your behavior and want to know what’s going on?”
“I never comment on those kind of stories,” Kennedy replied. “If you want to talk about health or how to end the war in Ukraine or how to end inflation and—or how to end the censorship and surveillance regime, I’m happy to talk about those.”
Kennedy has downplayed the accusations, first reported by Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter. The pair were “sexting” when Nuzzi sent Kennedy “demure” nude photographs, according to Puck News.
“The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict,” Nuzzi said in a statement.
In the Fox interview, MacCallum gave Kennedy every opportunity to comment on the matter, but the former independent presidential candidate remained tight-lipped on the issue.
“But, as a person, or do you have any regrets about any... ” she continued.
“Like I said, I don’t make comments on it,” Kennedy replied.
“All right, I wanted to give you an opportunity to answer it, because it’s been out there. But we thank you very much for being here, as always.”