Republican Sen. John Kennedy has been slammed as “tone deaf” after he made a political dig at a reporter while speaking about a terrorist attack in his home state of Louisiana.
The controversial quip came as he and other officials took questions about the Wednesday morning attack—which left at least 15 dead on New Orleans’ iconic Bourbon Street. A 42-year-old Army veteran named Shamsud-Din Jabbar has been named as the suspect, who was killed by officers who opened fire at the scene.
Early on in Tuesday’s press conference, a reporter told Kennedy that NBC News was “here on the right.” The remark was meant to help the 72-year-old identify each journalists’ affiliation as he geared up to answer a question during an afternoon press conference.
That prompted the Republican to remark, “Oh, that’s [an] unusual position.” He moved his hands to the right, seemingly suggesting NBC is a left-leaning outlet.
This appeared to confuse the reporter who had just assisted Kennedy. She called out, “I don’t get it.” Kennedy responded, “You wouldn’t.” He then took over the podium.
Democrats were quick to slam Kennedy—who has a long history of making bizarre comments to get attention—for making such a statement mere hours after dozens of his constituents were mowed down on the street as they celebrated the new year.
“Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana is a useless piece of s–t saying all the wrong things at the wrong time for all the wrong reasons,” wrote the political pundit Keith Olbermann on X. “What a tone deaf, selfish, senile motherf—-r.”
The timing of Kennedy’s theatrics also angered some on the right. The “Republicans against Trump” account on X wrote to its 780,000 followers that Kennedy was a “disgrace” for making the tragedy about him.
That sentiment was echoed elsewhere, but was not just about the senator’s slight at a reporter.
A disheveled-appearing Kennedy also sipped from two red solo cups—insulated with paper towels—midway through the news conference. He also promised to “raise fresh hell” and “chase the federal government who are responsible for telling us what happened like they stole Christmas” if he is not satisfied with the FBI’s findings, despite there already being a trove of information released about Jabbar and his potential motive.
Sen. John Kennedy could be seen sipping from a red solo cup during Wednesday’s press conference. / WDSU
The lawmaker also took a shot at Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, suggesting he doesn’t respect the Biden Administration official who will soon be replaced by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for the position.
“I did talk to the Secretary of Homeland Security a little while ago, and I told him that, with all the respect I could muster, that we expect to put the full force and resources of the federal government behind this investigation.”
Later, during an interview on Fox News, Kennedy did not deny that there may be a threat to other major American cities by terrorist groups. When asked by host Aishah Hasnie whether citizens should be afraid of a follow-up attack, Kennedy simply said: “I can’t answer that—I can, but I won’t.”
Despite the pushback, there were a few fans of Kennedy’s antics.
The conservative political commentator Kimberly Klacik suggested the senator had rightfully “taken over” the press conference from the FBI special agent Alethea Duncan—despite him offering more commentary on the incident than details.
Klacik wrote that the news conference was “definitely one of the worst” she’s witnessed, but pitted that blame on the feds.
“I can barely take notes,” she wrote. “They are all over the place.”
