Senator Kennedy: Theatrics trumps service

Louisiana Senator John Kennedy cares more about entertaining MAGA Republicans with one-liners than serving his constituents. His disgraceful performance at yesterday’s press conference following the New Orleans terrorist attack proves it.

While most public officials focused on the tragic loss of 15 lives, Kennedy seized the mic and ranted like a drunken, redneck bully. Frankly, his behavior rivals Trump throwing paper towels at hurricane victims in Puerto Rico for sheer callousness.

Kennedy shoves aside Black FBI special agent: race and power on display

Kennedy markets his shtick as folksy charm. Don’t buy it. His behavior is the demon spawn of Trump’s America, where bullying, racism, and misogyny are normalized.

Nobody even blinks when an old fart like Kennedy blurts out racist tropes for laughs. Here, Kennedy answered questions about this terrorist attack with partisan talking points dripping with smug condescension. Yet the press simply shrugged and moved on.

But the real spectacle happened when Kennedy decided that the FBI’s top brass, a Black female special agent, wasn’t quite fit to lead the presser. He shoved her aside and commandeered the mic to lecture the crowd about how little he respects the Latino Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas.

Trust me, every Black — and many Whites — who watched Kennedy do that, without a glance of acknowledgment, wished she had stood her ground and put him in his friggin’ place. But this is Trump’s America now, and we all know why she didn’t.

When White men like Kennedy channel their inner Trump, Black women in positions of authority know better than to make a scene. Resistance often comes at a price. The price, in this case, was dignity silently swallowed.

MAGA politics: The new normal

So, while families mourn their loved ones, a senator cracks jokes, takes cheap shots at reporters, and makes a national tragedy all about himself. But this is the new normal. Get used to White men behaving like him.

Kennedy’s behavior was disgraceful. But you ain’t seen nothing yet. A reelected Trump’s second act — unhinged and unchecked — will make this behavior look tame.