Sen. Kennedy laments how Kavanaugh hearings played out: ‘It was a freak show’

close

Video

Katie Pavlich rips Dems for 'dishonest' redefinition of court packing at Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearing

Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich reacts to Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., speaking Monday during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, decried how the confirmation hearings for Justice Brett Kavanaugh played out, calling them a “freak show.”

Kennedy made the comments while speaking directly to Barrett. The Republican senator acknowledged how quickly the confirmation process can be derailed by partisan attacks.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks virtually during a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington, as Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., right, listens.  (AP)

“Now, Judge, I understand this thing can turn sour real fast,” Kennedy told Barrett. “We all watched the hearings for Justice Kavanagh. It was a freak show. It looked like the cantina bar scene out of Star Wars.”

The confirmation process for Justice Brett Kavanaugh was overshadowed by allegations of past sexual misconduct that threatened to derail his confirmation. Kavanaugh vehemently denied all the accusations.

Kennedy further criticized the harsh treatment Barrett has received since President Trump formally nominated her late last month following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

We all watched the hearings for Justice Kavanagh. It was a freak show. It looked like the cantina bar scene out of Star Wars.

— Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.

“And I know for someone unaccustomed to it, that it hurts to be called a racist,” Kennedy said. “I think it’s one of the worst things you can call an American. I know that it hurts to be called a white colonialist."

“And I know that it must hurt for someone of deep Christian faith, like yourself, to be called a religious bigot. And to have it implied that because you are a devout Christian, that you’re somehow unfit for public service.”

CNN SKIPS MUCH OF HISTORIC AMY CONEY BARRETT HEARING, GETS BASHED

Barrett has faced a barrage of attacks over her religious beliefs well before President Trump nominated her to the Supreme Court. When she was appointed to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee told Barrett: “I think in your case, professor, when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you. And that’s of concern.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

And late last month, Ibram X. Kendi, a Boston University professor and author of the New York Times bestseller, “How to Be an Antiracist,” likened Barrett, a mother of seven, to a “white colonizer” who used her two adopted Haitian children as “props.”