“You can protect your wife instead of, I don’t know, beating her to the escape pod,” Stewart said.

Jon Stewart slams RFK Jr., for ‘abandoning’ Cheryl Hines during WHCD shooting

"You can protect your wife instead of, I don’t know, beating her to the escape pod," Stewart said.

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and NME.

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April 28, 2026 12:29 p.m. ET

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Jon Stewart; Cheryl Hines; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Credit:

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty; Taylor Hill/WireImage; Paul Morigi/Getty

- Jon Stewart is ripping into RFK Jr. and his Secret Service detail for not helping his wife Cheryl Hines amid the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting.

- *The Daily Show *host played a clip that featured RFK Jr. being thronged by security while Hines ran after them unaccompanied.

- "You can protect your wife instead of, I don’t know, beating her to the escape pod," Stewart said.

Jon Stewart is slamming Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Secret Service detail for not looking out for his wife Cheryl Hines amid the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting.

The comedian called out their handling of the incident on Monday’s episode of *The Daily Show**, *playing a clip taken during the encounter that showed RFK Jr. exiting the ballroom surrounded by Secret Service members while Hines chased after them unescorted.

“Did you see it? Did you see right there? There’s a group of men carrying another man out of the room. And then there’s a woman,” Stewart said. “A woman who appears to be — I’m not a, obviously — *desperately reaching out* for someone to care, to help her. The woman reaching up in agony and fear? That’s RFK Jr.’s wife.”

Stewart hosts 'The Daily Show'.

Stewart wasn’t done taking the Secretary of Health and Human Services to task just yet.

“And by the way, if there’s one guy in that entire room who seems like they would be impervious to physical damage, it’s f---ing RFK Jr.,” he said as a photo of the politician was displayed onscreen. “Look at this guy. He literally looks like a guy who is trapped between being Bruce Banner and the Hulk.”

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The comedian continued to rip into RFK Jr. over the incident. “How f---ed up is that scene?” he asked the audience. “May I show you the tape again?”

This time, Stewart encouraged viewers to focus on a man in the foreground of the footage who could be seen rushing to safety with a pregnant woman.

“The guy right there, shielding the pregnant woman from danger? That’s Stephen Miller and his wife,” Stewart remarked. “Stephen Miller carefully protecting his wife. See, RFK? Turned out, that’s an option! You can protect your wife instead of, I don’t know, beating her to the escape pod.”

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He also expressed his amazement that Miller reacted better than RFK Jr. in the moment. “The guy who outshined you is Stephen f---ing Miller. That’s who outshined you!” Stewart exclaimed. “That’s who was more chivalrous. Stephen Miller, a guy who probably jerks off to the new* Faces of Death* movie.”

The host added that he believes RFK Jr.’s failure to protect Hines will have a lasting effect on their marriage. “Now, for the rest of your life, your wife is gonna ask you a question no one’s ever asked before, ever: ‘Why can’t you be more like Stephen Miller?’” Stewart joked.

“Looks like we got a new addition to the 'Kennedy Family Abandoning Women To Their Fate' Wikipedia page,” he said. When groans rang out from the audience, Stewart quipped back, “Oh! I’m sorry! Too soon, or too many?”

Hines described the shooting from her perspective in an Instagram Story on Saturday evening, wherein she stated that RFK Jr.’s security detail helped both her and her husband flee the ballroom.

"Nobody knew what was going on, and then, um, you know, Bobby's security detail surrounded us and took us…,” Hines explained at the time. “I mean, really, like, had to lift me over chairs, because I'm in heels and a gown, and, um, and they took us through all of the back ways, and we, uh, got in the car, and left."

In a subsequent Story post, Hines thanked everyone for reaching out, noting that she and RFK Jr. were “okay” and “watching the news break, just like you guys.”

A suspect in the shooting, 31-year-old Cole Allen, has since been charged with attempting to assassinate the president.

Watch Stewart roast RFK Jr. for appearing to leave Hines behind in the clip above.

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