Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) recently confronted a former top-ranking general to his face on prior comments he made about President-elect Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans. During a tense exchange in a congressional hearing, Kennedy called out disparaging comments General Randy Manner made toward Trump, suggesting he is a “fascist.”
Kennedy said, “Duty, honor, respect. You talked about that, yes, in your opening statement on October 14 of this year, you went on CNN, I want to read you what you said, make sure I’m accurate. Here’s what you said, ‘President Trump is not like any sane leader. I’m very proud of General Milley for saying that President Trump is a total fascist. Bob Woodward, if he is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, is calling the president the fascist. I’m so proud of him for breaking that barrier.'”
Continuing, Kennedy further quoted the general. “‘The challenge is because most MAGA Republicans, they don’t understand what Fascism is. The reality is that they are, in fact, fascists themselves.'” Pressing the general, the Louisiana Republican said, “Did I read that accurate, senator?” Manner responded, “I am happy to discuss my personal perspective with you separately at any time. That’s not the purpose of the hearing today.”
Dissatisfied with that reply, Kennedy asked again, “Did I read that accurately.” Manner answered, “I believe so, yes.” The senator followed up, “You think you’re smarter than the American people, don’t you?” Manner answered, “Absolutely not, Senator, I am here to discuss the use of the military as part of this mass deportation.” Kennedy continued, “You think you’re more virtuous than the American people don’t you?” The general said, “Senator, I am insulted by your comment.”
Not backing down, Kennedy added, “Duty, honor and respect. You talked about that in your opening statement. Did you?” Kennedy added, “Yes, sir.” The senator then said, “Miss Moran said, I wrote down her words. She said, by their actions, you know what someone’s character is like, you agree with that?” This prompted Manner to assert, “Senator. For 35 years, I served my country with absolute honor and distinction, and I will continue to do so.”
Earlier this year, The American Tribune reported on Kennedy’s comments on Vice President Kamala Harris’s inconsistencies in her stances. He said, “I listened to the vice president’s interview. I’m biased, I suppose, because I know her well. She’s a nice person, I just don’t agree with her. I had two reactions to her interview, unsurprised, unimpressed.”
Calling out her flip-flopping, Kennedy said, “I’m a pretty simple guy. I like breakfast food and straight answers. I didn’t hear any straight answers from the vice president. What I heard her say basically was I do too have values, and if you don’t like them, I have others. I thought she engaged in tier one level pandering. It was sort of like a wolf promising to be a vegan if the sheep will just vote for it.”
Watch Kennedy below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video
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