This year’s New Orleans Book Festival saw a stacked roster of authors and important figures. A number of politicians spoke at various events, including John Kennedy, the Junior Senator from Louisiana. Journalist and Tulane professor Walter Isaacson shared the stage with the senator, and the two spoke on various matters – many political in nature, some personal.
Isaacson began the conversation by asking Kennedy about his newest book, the bestselling “How to Test Negative for Stupid: And Why Washington Never Will”.
“You write a book and it’s like birthing a child, and you never know how people will receive it,” Kennedy said regarding the writing process.
In the book, as well as talking politics, Kennedy writes about his pre-political life from his upbringing in Zachary, Louisiana, to his education at Vanderbilt and his time at the University of Virginia and Oxford. Isaacson asked about the development of the senator’s bold personality and personal branding in his college years.
“Was it intentional that you were just saying, alright, I ain’t going to be polished, I’m going to pretend not to be a UVA Oxford dude?”
In his reply, Kennedy said, “It’s all about communication…I try to organize my thoughts, and I try to communicate them in an honest way, but a memorable way. And some people like it and some people don’t.”
Kennedy discussed current events with Isaacson, from the perspective of an insider to Washington politics. The senator briefly touched on the ousting of former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and her poor management of the Department of Homeland Security, in his opinion–as well as the phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump following the outbreak of this scandal.
“That night, about 9:30 p.m., I got a call from the president. He was mad as a mama wasp,” Kennedy said.
This moment made Kennedy certain that Noem would be fired.
After touching on questions about the border, the DHS and its agents, the two spoke on the conflict in Iran.
“Do you think, though, it’s possible to achieve regime change by an air war?” Isaacson asked, to which Kennedy answered no.
Kennedy made it clear that he did not think the president would put boots on the ground in Iran.
“But if he puts boots on the ground, the thud you hear will be me face-planting because I fainted,” Kennedy said.
Towards the end of the conversation, Isaacson asked Kennedy his thoughts on New Orleans at present, and where to go from here.
“I love New Orleans. The first thing we have to do in New Orleans is get our finances,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy expressed his high opinion of former Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration, saying that he felt Landrieu “left the city in good shape.”
The senator called for a pragmatic approach to running New Orleans, focusing on strengthening infrastructure and keeping things running: “We’ve got to have safe drinking water. Just the basics.”
After the conversation, Kennedy engaged with some members of the audience in the front row, shaking hands and saying a few words. The senator was not taking questions, but when asked if he had a statement for Loyola, he replied, “I love Loyola.”
