Sen. John Kennedy said on Wednesday that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was correct when he said that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio failed to handle the riots that broke out in the Big Apple.
“I’m really worried about the cops and the peaceful protesters and the businesses in New York,” Kennedy, R-La., told “America’s Newsroom.”
Kennedy continued, “And I don’t know what planet Mayor de Blasio parachuted in from, but I don’t see him carrying his happy a** down there, trying to protect people.”
“He needs help to protect everybody, the peaceful protesters, the cops, and the business owners and if he doesn’t realize he needs help, then he’s not qualified to run a hot dog stand as far as I am concerned,” Kennedy said.
WITH NYC UNDER ATTACK, DE BLASIO'S HANDLING OF NYPD FUELS LONG-RUNNING TENSIONS WITH POLICE
The two leaders have long had a difficult relationship, but it spilled out into the open on Tuesday after a night of rioting tore through the city, with Cuomo saying “the NYPD and the mayor did not do their job last night.”
"You have 38,000 NYPD people, it is the largest police department in the United States of America," Cuomo said. "Use 38,000 people and protect property. Use the police, protect property and people. Look at the videos, it was a disgrace."
That provoked a furious response from de Blasio, who has been a regular critic of the NYPD, but came out in defense of New York’s Finest and took a direct shot at Cuomo.
“He dishonored the men and women of the NYPD in an absolutely inappropriate way for any leader to do,” de Blasio said on 1010 Wins talk radio Tuesday.
“Any elected official who blames the NYPD while they were out there fighting in the streets to restore order, protect people – that’s disgraceful.”
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Kennedy said that de Blasio ought to listen to his governor, arguing that it's obvious that the National Guard is needed in New York City.
“All you’ve got to do is look at Fifth Avenue for God's sake. I mean, it’s horrible, and lawful protesting is as American as baseball. Men and women have died to protect that right in this country on the battlefield and off. But, if you don’t know the difference between peacefully protesting and rioting, then you tested positive for stupid.”