Fox News "Hannity" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. John Kennedy

Interview

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HANNITY: Does that seem like someone with the energy, alertness, mental capacity to be president of the United States? That's the hardest job in the world, because I've got to be honest, a lot of this isn't even funny anymore. Pretty serious.

Here with the reaction, Louisiana Senator John Kennedy.

Senator, to me, this is not a matter of Joe's age. Look -- I'll give you an example, Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders is as sharp as he was 20 years ago pushing his radical socialism, communism, whatever he was pushing at the time.

He has energy. He's alert. He's articulate. He has passion in what he does.

You see the president every day. I'm playing these tapes every night. It's an obvious problem.

It seems degenerative. I would assume the pressures of the office might accelerate whatever's going on here. Dr. Ronny Jackson thinks he needs a cognitive test.

What are your thoughts?

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): Well, Sean, I listened to the president's press conference today, and there were times when I was confused.

Let me speak to the substance though. I don't hate anyone, but whoever is advising the president on crime and I don't know who it is, but whoever it is his -- his Secret Service name ought to be butthead.

I mean, why has Chicago become the world's largest outdoor shooting range? Why is it safer to walk down the streets of Mogadishu than New York City?

Crime is not up as the president seemed to indicate today because of inadequate background checks. Crime is up because many -- not all -- but many members of the president's own party believe in defunding the police. They ran on it, and in many cities, they've done it.

Crime is up because many members of the president's own party want to turn cops into social workers. Crime is up because many members of the president's own party think all cops are racists, including apparently the African-American police officers. Crime is up because many members of the president's own party think that when a cop shoots, a criminal, it's always the cops' fault. But when a criminal shoots a cop, it's always the gun's fault.

Now, most people in America know that, and we're not going to get in control of this crime situation until we do three things, until President Biden does three things.

Number one, fund the police. Give them their money back.

Number two, let cops be cops let them do their job. Now, if they misbehave, if they don't follow the law, punish them, hold them accountable -- like we did with Derek Chauvin. But most cops, follow the law.

And number three, we're going to have to do what Mayor Giuliani and Mayor Bloomberg did in New York City. We're going to have to do it in all the major crime areas. We're going to have to bring back stop, question and frisk, and apply it in a racially neutral manner.

It is perfectly legal. It has been used for years. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the opinion in 1968, a case called Terry v. Ohio that says it is perfectly legal to stop, question and frisk, if you do it in a racially neutral manner.

And until we do -- I mean this business of the confusion from the press conference and this business of background checks and -- I mean, it's just drivel, and I think most Americans know it.

HANNITY: Let me -- let me ask, as you see crime in all of these cities and you see -- for example, we just had in New York an announcement that all the people that were involved in arson, all the people involved in looting, people -- we have videotapes of them doing these -- committing these crimes.

None of them are going to be prosecuted. You have defunding the police. You have dismantling the police and you have no bail laws taking over in the country.

I don't know, Senator. I'm just a simple guy. I'm just a little talk show host. I just don't see any of that ending well.

I like to ask people the question, if we dismantle defund the police, what are you going to do if God forbid somebody breaks into your home late at night?

Senator, I'm pretty sure that you have a plan. I know I have my plan. I'm not going to be counting on other people to protect me in my life, but most people don't have a plan and many people aren't capable of even -- even following up on a plan if they did have one.

KENNEDY: Well, how can I put this? You remember -- you remember how you felt -- you remember how people panicked when they couldn't find toilet paper? Imagine how they're going to feel when they can't find a cop. And that's where -- that's where we're headed here.

This attitude among many, not all, but many of my Democratic colleagues that we can -- we can have order without justice, that we can have order without law enforcement is nonsense. I don't know where it came from.

Unfortunately, I don't know why, but there are people in this world, they're not mixed up. They're not confused. They're not sick.

It's not a question of whether their mama or daddy loved them enough. They're just anti-social. And society's got to be protected and we've got to have cops to do it.

HANNITY: I can't say it anymore simply. You've done a great job for the people of Louisiana, Senator. We're supporting and following closely your re-election race in 2022. Thank you for being with us.

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