‘DON’T INTEREST ME’

Sen. Kennedy Short Circuits in CNN Interview, Repeats Nonsense Defense About Woodward’s ‘Gotcha’ Book

Kennedy dismissed the president’s own recorded statements as gossip three times.

Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) dismissed President Donald Trump’s remarks about intentionally downplaying the severity of the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday, calling Trump’s on-the-record statements nothing but gossip in a “gotcha book.” Asked about Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward’s book, Rage, in an interview with CNN, Kennedy repeated himself three times. “You know, these ‘gotcha books’ don’t really interest me that much. There will be a new one tomorrow,” he said. He offered no explanation for his nonchalance and no response to Trump’s taped remarks. Unlike an account that makes use of anonymous sources, Woodward’s book relied on 18 interviews with the commander-in-chief. Among other revelations, Trump told Woodward he had been informed of the danger of COVID-19 but chose to minimize it in public statements.