Vice President Kamala Harris recently went on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast to discuss her campaign and its focus on restoring abortion rights. That interview provoked strong feelings from one Republican U.S. senator.
Newsweek reported Tuesday that in response to Harris' interview, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) had a particular fixation on the mention of women's menstrual health products. While speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity, Kennedy said he was personally offended that Harris talked about tampons while Appalachian communities were reeling from Hurricane Helene.
"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," Kennedy said.
"The people of Appalachia right now don't give a function about tampons. They need water. They need to get out."
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"You can't make this stuff up, but everything I said is factual," the Louisiana Republican added.
The subject of tampons came up when Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper mentioned to Harris that women on TikTok find entertainment when asking men about how tampons are used, with the men indicating they didn't know. Harris then laughed, and noted that she was the first vice president in history to have visited a reproductive health clinic.
However, Harris did talk about Hurricane Helene in her interview with Cooper, which has killed at least 230 people to date, with the death toll expected to increase as recovery efforts continue in the affected states. Even though Helene made landfall in Florida, the bulk of the devastation took place in the western part of North Carolina, burying entire neighborhoods in floodwater and destroying infrastructure across multiple counties.
Former President Donald Trump has attempted to cement the false narrative that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been absent in the wake of Helene, even though both Democratic and Republican governors in the affected states have repeatedly praised the federal government's quick response. Last week, Politico's E&E News reported that if Project 2025 (authored with the help of more than 140 of Trump's former staffers and advisors) were to come to fruition, the National Flood Insurance Program would be eliminated, meaning flood victims would be effectively on their own after a natural disaster.
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After Helene made landfall, President Joe Biden's administration announced the deployment of thousands of U.S, troops and federal employees to the affected areas. FEMA supplied first responders with high-water rescue equipment, trucks, helicopters and other tools to help rescue stranded residents. Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp heaped praise on Biden, noting that he called him and simply asked: "What do you need?"
Florida is currently bracing for Hurricane Milton, which is expected to hit the Tampa area as a Category 3 storm this week. The last time two major hurricanes hit the same state in the same year was 2020, when Hurricanes Laura and Delta hit Louisiana. The Bayou State also experienced a similar phenomenon in 2005, when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita both ravaged Louisiana. ABC affiliate WKRN reported that climate change is expected to make future hurricane seasons longer and more intense in the coming years.
Click here to read Newsweek's report in full.
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