Louisiana Senator John Kennedy weighed in on women’s thoughts on sanitary products after the topic came up during Kamala Harris‘ appearance on the podcast “Call Her Daddy,” saying people in Appalachia don’t “give a function” about tampons after Hurricane Helene.
His comments came as part of an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on October 7, the day after the vice president’s interview was released.
The Fox News anchor had asked him for his reaction to President Joe Biden‘s comment that the victims of Helene were “getting everything they need” and that they were “very happy, across the board,” after he surveyed the damage.
In his response, the senator said, “The Vice President goes on some show called ‘Call Her Daddy’ or ‘Call Your Daddy’ or ‘Who’s Your Daddy’ or something — ‘Call Me Daddy,’ I like ‘Who’s Your Daddy’ better — and among other things she’s talking about tampons.”
Sen. John Kennedy at the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Senate Judiciary hearing after the failed assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, on July 30, 2024. The senator has said that Hurricane Helene victims “don’t give a function about tampons.”
Rod Lamkey/AP
“The people of Appalachia right now don’t give a function about tampons. They need water. They need to get out,” he added.
The senator went on to say, “You can’t make this stuff up, but everything I said is factual.”
Newsweek has contacted the press office of Sen. John Kennedy via email for comment outside of business hours.
In Harris’ interview with Cooper on “Call Her Daddy,” the conversation reached the topic of tampons when the host told Harris that on TikTok women ask men questions about how tampons are used, to which they don’t know the answer. Harris laughed and responded that she was the first president or vice-president in history to visit a reproductive health clinic.
Their conversation was largely centered around women’s rights, abortion, and personal attacks made against Harris.
Outside of his reference to Harris’ tampon conversation, the senator talked about the devastation of Helene.
The death toll of the hurricane has risen to more than 230, according to ABC News, although many are still unaccounted for.
Helene is the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005, and more than one million Americans were still left without power four days after the storm.
While many are still recovering from the massive impact of Helene, Hurricane Milton has officially strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane and is predicted to make landfall on the Florida coast.
Milton, which is currently in the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to hit the west coast of Florida late on Wednesday night.
Last month, the Republican senator, who has served Louisiana since 2017, was criticized for his comments to an Arab American activist, saying she should “hide [her] head in a bag” during a hearing about hate crimes in the country.
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