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.