Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) is making it clear that he was not calling Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) an “ignorant slut.”
During a confirmation hearing for Neera Tanden, President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Kennedy brought up her criticism of Sanders.
“I have to tell you, I’m very disturbed about your personal comments about people,” Kennedy told Tanden on Wednesday as he noted she attacked Republicans and Democrats in “personal” terms.
He continued, “I mean, you called Sen. Sanders everything but an ignorant slut… and when you said these things, did you mean them?”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) chimed in with a chuckle, “I wouldn’t have said ignorant.”
Tanden told Kennedy she “deeply” regretted her past comments.
After pressing Tanden on whether she meant what she said in her comments attacking lawmakers, Kennedy circled back to clarify that he was not attacking Sanders.
“I want the record to reflect that I did not call Sen. Sanders an ignorant slut,” Kennedy said.
Sanders responded with a laugh, “I don’t know how I should take that Sen. Kennedy.”
Watch the video below:
CLIP: Exchange between Senator Kennedy and OMB nominee Neera Tanden.@SenJohnKennedy: "You called Senator Sanders everything but an 'ignorant slut.'"
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 10, 2021
Full video here: https://t.co/vjUdxHtPdu pic.twitter.com/OtXAAz7c8B
Tanden has faced criticism from Republicans over tweets she previously sent attacking lawmakers. However, in a hearing on Tuesday, she apologized for her past comments, as IJR reported.
She said, “For those concerned about my rhetoric and my language, I’m sorry, and I’m sorry for any hurt that they’ve caused.”
Along with attacking Republicans, Tanden — who supported former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016 — criticized Sanders while he challenged her for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.
