Sen. John Kennedy (R., La.) said Thursday that celebrities who recently jumped into politics must have been smoking something.
Singers Willie Nelson and Taylor Swift made high-profile endorsements of Senate candidates Beto O’Rourke (Texas) and Phil Bredesen (Tenn.) respectively, both of whom lost on Tuesday. Kennedy said one of the lessons from the midterms is that celebrities outside the political sphere are better off leaving it alone.
"I love Willie Nelson and Taylor Swift, I have their music on my phone, but they must have been smoking some of Willie’s dope when they decided to get involved in politics," Kennedy said. "I think Hollywood needs to stay out of politics; I think the American people are smart enough to figure it out for themselves."
Kennedy’s top-line judgment on the midterm election was that it was no blue wave, with the Democrats retaking the House and the Republicans gaining seats in the Senate.
"We all heard about the blue wave. I think it’s pretty clear that the blue wave was a blue dribble. We pretty much fought to a draw," he said.
Echoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), Kennedy said the confirmation battle over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh helped Republicans win more Senate races.
"I think President Trump and the Kavanaugh hearings had a huge impact on the election, at least on the Republican side," he said.
Kennedy said he hopes Democrats don’t focus their energy on harassing the Trump administration instead of working to solve problems for everyday Americans.
"I hope our Democratic friends in the House will work with us, and not just use their majority to harass the administration," he said. "I hope they’ll honestly work with us on the Senate side to try to solve some of the problems that keep moms and dads up at night."
Specifically, Kennedy said health insurance costs are a challenge Congress must address.
"We need to do something about the cost of health insurance. We among ourselves as Republicans tried; we got no Democratic support. I hope now the Democrats will come aboard and let’s figure something out because—and this is not meant to impugn anybody—but Obamacare didn’t work," he said.