U.S. Senator John Neely Kennedy (R-LA) reacts as he speaks with members of the media outside the Senate chamber, following a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and top Republican congressional leaders (REUTERS)
CNN host Kasie Hunt challenged Sen. Jon Kennedy (R-La.) over President Donald Trump's belief that he lost the 2020 election. At one point all she could do was laugh at him and ask, "When did this get so hard?"
Kennedy lashed out at Democrats, saying that the question is all "a game" for Democrats. But Democrats point to former Director of National Security Tulsi Gabbard showing up in Fulton County, Georgia to execute a criminal search warrant at an elections office. Typically, the position is an independent and non-partisan one. Gabbard's actions led to concerns from both sides of the political aisle about the federal takeover of the 2026 midterm elections.
Kennedy said that Democrats want Republicans to admit that Trump lost in 2020. "And the nominees, understandably, in my opinion, don't want to play that game."
Hunt asked how it is a game after what Gabbard did.
Kennedy insisted, saying he's never once heard a Republican nominee say that Trump won the election in 2020. FBI Director Kash Patel and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon are two top-level people who have appeared before the Senate and who believe in 2020 election conspiracy theories. A slew of acting officials and hired staff are also on record echoing the claim that Trump won, The New York Times reported in its running list.
Hunt persisted, "But again, I mean, we live in a democracy where, in the past, everyone called the winner to concede and say, 'Congratulations on your win. It was a tough loss for me. What does it say about where we are that, you know, you think that this is a game of words. I mean, when did this get so hard?"
Kennedy blamed it on Democrats, saying Joe Biden was the president and no one says otherwise. He maintains that Democrats want Republican nominees to "use the magic words" publicly that Trump lost and "Trump [is] a liar." Toward the end of the interview, Kennedy said that Democrats can't "get" to Trump, so they hammer his nominees on the 2020 election facts.
Hunt questioned how it could be the fault of Democrats.
"Is that not more about President Trump and the way he would react to a nominee saying this than it is about the Democrats?" she asked.
But Kennedy disagreed, saying that he believes Trump "was cheated," and he can have his own beliefs about his own reality. Kennedy said that if one asks the average American who the last president was, they'd say Biden.
Hunt noted that it was Kennedy who was playing coy with the words. Republicans often dodge saying Trump lost by saying Biden was the president. So, she pressed Kennedy on who won.
Kennedy said, "Trump was the president of the United States, prompting Hunt to laugh at him.
"But you could also say Trump won the election, right?" she asked.
Kennedy said that those are the "magic words" that Democrats demand.
"Just elections are won and lost. I mean, I don't know, itseems like fairly plainEnglish to me. You're someone who speaks in a lot of plain English," said Hunt, continuing to laugh.
Ultimately, Kennedy did concede, "Theissue was, did anybody provethat there was fraud and thatit made a difference in theresults. And the answer to thatis no. And I think that's whatmost Americans have concluded."
Clayton would not make that same concession.