We’ve seen a lot of great grilling of witnesses by Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA).
He certainly has a talent for ferreting out the weaknesses of Democratic witnesses or nominees.
But I think it’s safe to say the question he asked a climate witness on Wednesday was truly unique and was one that you’re not likely to generally hear from a senator.
Warning for graphic language from here on in.
Kennedy was questioning climate researcher Geoffrey Supran over posts on X. He’s an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Miami. He researches “the history of climate disinformation and propaganda by fossil fuel interests.”
Kennedy was questioning whether he supported the radical group Climate Defiance.
The group has targeted a lot of officials including Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) last month, as I reported. They rushed the stage with a banner and there was a big struggle where people all went tumbling off the stage.
Kennedy noted how the group had called Murkowski a “murderer” and crashed a meeting that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) was in, calling him a “sick f**k.”
BREAKING: we just called Joe Manchin a sick fuck. We humiliated him in front of a herd of Harvard elites. He squared up. We held firm. Barbaric murderer, hideous fiend, he torches humanity and laughs. pic.twitter.com/1ajrQsKnbJ
— Climate Defiance (@ClimateDefiance) March 1, 2024
Kennedy pressed Supran on a post that he retweeted from the group that said, “We CHASE fossil fuel CEOs and the politicians who do their bidding.”
We do not do online petitions. We do not do NGO coalition letters. We do not do fucking bus stop ads.
— Climate Defiance (@ClimateDefiance) December 14, 2023
We CHASE fossil fuel CEOs and the politicians who do their bidding. And we do not apologize.
John Kennedy is a national treasure pic.twitter.com/o06GyaRD6G
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) May 1, 2024
Supran said that these weren’t his tweets but they were “retweets.”
Kennedy then dropped the hammer, asking if he often retweeted things he didn’t support?
Then Supran said he didn’t say he didn’t support the tweet, he just didn’t tweet it.
Whoops. Not exactly a great response when you’re left scrambling to differentiate between a tweet and a retweet. When you’re retweeting such a group, yes, people are going to be wondering what the heck is going on in your head. That’s not going to fly well.
Supran didn’t like this questioning at all and tried to volley back, claiming that “this form of character assassination is characteristic of the propaganda techniques of the fossil fuel (inaudible).”
But he did retweet them and didn’t even say here that he didn’t support them. So how is that “character assassination” or doesn’t he want to stand by what he tweets and retweets?
Then Kennedy just ended him with a final line since his time was up, “Are you going to call me a sick f**k?”
Oh, my. Now that’s a way to punctuate your point with an exclamation point!
Related:
WATCH: In Which Sen. John Kennedy Expertly Destroys the Credibility of Woke Climate ‘Expert’ Witness
Hilarious: Climate Activist Humiliated by Sen. Kennedy Reveals What Dems Said to Him Afterward
