Republican senator flippantly fires back after shocking on-air freezing episode goes viral
Kennedy brushed off concerns about his health that had been generated by Tuesday's segment in his usual jovial fashion, while Fox host Larry Kudlow helped him debunk the myths that were started by yesterday's incident.
'A lot of lefty media are saying things they shouldn't say. As I understand it, what happened was your IFB, your wire broke down. And you had a lot of noise in your ear. And you had to stop talking because you couldn't get anything through,' Kudlow said, kicking off the exchange.
'I was just yapping away, and all of a sudden my ear piece blew up,' Kennedy said, pointing to his right ear. He described the sound as like 'a 747 taking off' and said his ears were still ringing.
Kennedy dismissed speculation about his health, saying some publications have suggested he 'had a brain freeze live on TV, or a stroke, or caught an STD.'
'I'm ok. I'm back here today, I'm full of piss and vinegar and I'd be glad to answer your questions,' the Senator concluded.
The moment when Kennedy suddenly stopped speaking mid-sentence during his television appearance has been widely circulated online over the past 24 hours.
Kennedy was speaking about the Trump administration's stance on sanctuary cities when the concerning moment occurred.
The senator began to trail off while referencing how Jesus loves immigrants.
'Jesus loves them, but everybody else thinks ….' Kennedy said, before mumbling a few barely-audible words. 'Everybody else thinks…' he repeated before looking off into the distance and going completely silent.
Kennedy remained motionless on camera with his lips parted and eyes staring forward until host Larry Kudlow cut in, attributing the moment to a technical issue.
The senator's office disputed initial reporting about the incident, saying there was simply an earpiece malfunction that also affected Senator Rand Paul, who was interviewed before Kennedy.
"I heard a loud screeching noise with a lot of static. It sounded like a 747 taking off," Kennedy explained in a statement. "I stopped talking until the interference cleared up, and thought we were off the air."
Kennedy criticized The Daily Beast's coverage, saying the media outlet failed to contact Kudlow's producer to verify the technical explanation.
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