Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy blasted New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s response to riots in his city during a Wednesday morning appearance on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.”
The New York City mayor was criticized by many, including President Donald Trump and New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, for allowing demonstrations this week to turn into violent riots that included store lootings and attacks on police.
Cuomo called the response “inexcusable” during a Tuesday press conference and even discussed the option of displacing de Blasio as mayor, though he rejected it for the time being.
Kennedy, for his part, emphatically declared that Cuomo’s criticism “was right.”
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“I don’t know what planet Mayor de Blasio parachuted in from, but I don’t see him carrying his happy ass down there and trying to protect people,” Kennedy told Fox News’ Sandra Smith. “He needs help to protect everybody, the peaceful protesters, the cops, and the business owners. And if he doesn’t realize he needs help, then he’s not qualified to run a hot dog stand as far as I’m concerned.”
Responding to Smith’s question about whether the National Guard is needed in New York, Kennedy said, “Well duh, yeah.”
“All you got to do is look at Fifth Avenue for God’s sakes,” he said, calling the carnage “horrible.”
Kennedy defended peaceful protests as “American as baseball,” but said that if people “don’t know the difference between peacefully protesting and felony rioting, then you tested positive for stupid.” (RELATED: Tucker Laments Double Standard: ‘Normal’ People Must Follow ‘Countless New Rules,’ Rioters ‘Get To Ignore’ Them)
“Burning down businesses and trying to hurt cops and trying to hurt lawful protesters who disagree with you is a crime,” he concluded. “And these people ought to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Demonstrations did take a more peaceful turn Tuesday night in Washington D.C., New York City, and other places.