As RedState reported earlier, even amid the horrific terrorist attack that took place in his beloved state of Louisiana in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) took a moment Wednesday to display a bit of his much-vaunted wit.
The moment happened during an early presser on the day of the attack, which tragically claimed the lives of at least 15 holiday celebrants and injured many more. Though authorities are still investigating, at this stage they’re saying that the ISIS-inspired attacker, identified as Shamsud Din Jabbar, likely acted alone.
The context of the exchange was unknown (presumably, Kennedy had been asked a question from a reporter), but it was – as my colleague Nick Arama noted – a classic Kennedy moment:
Reporter: NBC is here on the right
Kennedy: That’s an unusual position
Reporter: I don’t get it
Kennedy; You wouldn’t pic.twitter.com/wYxDDIz0Gf
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 1, 2025
READ MORE: Sen. Kennedy Dispatches the Media in Classic Moment During NOLA Presser
While Kennedy otherwise took a more serious tone during the presser, his quip about NBC News apparently triggered failed 2020 Democrat presidential candidate and Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA), who took to the Twitter/X machine to proclaim in response to a news piece on the exchange that “MAGA pro wrestler” Kennedy was a decent guy when he wasn’t behind the mic:
This may shock you, but I was on an FBI briefing call this morning with Senator John Kenned and he acted like a grown up and asked real questions. When the cameras aren’t on, most of these MAGA pro wrestlers actually act normal. Which makes their acting that much more pathetic.
The first thing I thought when I read that was “Swalwell was allowed on an FBI briefing call?” Considering his, um, questionable history when it comes to national security, I wasn’t the only one:
I’m not sure whether it’s more disturbing or ironic, the fact that @RepSwalwell would be anywhere near an FBI briefing. https://t.co/apXbFX6XVG
— Jeff Morris (@jeffmorrisAR) January 3, 2025
Are you still sleeping with Chinese spies? How the hell are you sitting in on any sort of briefing?
— Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) January 3, 2025
The second thing I thought was “What kind of person takes a cheap shot at a grieving colleague in the aftermath of what happened this week?”
There was also this, from former Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen:
I’ve met you off camera and you’re quite normal, even nice. But then you get on camera and suggest you’ve seen classified evidence Donald Trump was a Russian agent — only to have the Mueller probe find that was a conspiracy theory. You might want to remove the beam from your own eye before pointing out the splinter in your neighbor’s eye.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that Swalwell, who isn’t fit to be in the same room with Kennedy much less to be speaking about him with such disdain, does actually have one thing in common with him. Swalwell, like Kennedy, is the same person he is on the screen that he is when the cameras aren’t rolling.
The difference, however, is that Kennedy is a great, honorable man, leader, and national treasure. Swalwell, on the other hand, well, in the interests of keeping this piece family-friendly, I’ll leave it to readers to debate who and what he is.
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