John Kennedy says only ‘God’s perfect idiot’ thought anti-Trump Cassidy could survive

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA: Republican Sen. John Kennedy said fellow Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy ignored clear warning signs before crashing out of the state’s Republican Senate primary.

Cassidy failed to qualify Saturday for the June 27 Republican runoff for the Louisiana Senate seat he currently holds, finishing third behind Republican Rep. Julia Letlow and Republican Treasurer John Fleming with just 25% of the vote.

John Kennedy says Trump endorsement sealed Bill Cassidy’s fate

During an appearance on ‘The Sunday Briefing’ with host Peter Doocy, Kennedy said Cassidy’s defeat had been obvious for months.

“Unless you’re God’s perfect idiot, the result was predictable. I mean, ‘ground control to Major Tom,’ the polls have shown for well over a year that Senator Cassidy was in trouble,” he said. “I think the president’s endorsement of Congresswoman Letlow was sort of the icing on the cake. Bill knew that, but he decided to run anyway. I respect that. I thank him for his service; he was very gracious in his concession speech.”

Kennedy said he would stay out of the upcoming runoff between Letlow and Fleming, repeatedly describing both Republicans as “fine people.”

“We now got a runoff between two fine people,” Kennedy continued. “For what it’s worth, I don’t plan to get involved. A wise man once said nothing. Why? Because he’s a wise man. But I don’t plan on weighing in, and, you know, if one of them starts talking about my mama, I might, otherwise I’m just going to vote like everybody else.”

Cassidy had long been on shaky ground with many Republican voters after becoming one of seven GOP senators who voted to convict President Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

The senator also drew attention in recent months for clashes with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine advisory panels and other issues.

Kennedy acknowledged that Trump’s backing played a major role in Cassidy’s collapse at the polls.

“President Trump’s endorsement had a huge, huge impact — there’s no question about that — but there were other factors,” Kennedy told Doocy. “And, as I said, Bill’s been in trouble politically for over a year and he knew that. And I don’t think anybody was especially surprised, especially after President Trump weighed in."

Trump celebrates Bill Cassidy’s Senate primary defeat

Neither Letlow, who has represented Louisiana’s fifth district since 2021, nor Fleming crossed the 50% threshold required to avoid a runoff, setting up a June showdown between the two Republicans. The eventual winner will face the Democratic runoff victor in November.

Trump made clear Saturday that he had little sympathy for Cassidy’s defeat.

Earlier in the day, the president blasted the senator as “a disloyal disaster” and “a sleazebag, a terrible guy, who is BAD FOR LOUISIANA.”

After the race was called, Trump returned to social media to celebrate the result. “It’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!” he remarked.

Cassidy, meanwhile, appeared to take a pointed jab at Trump during his concession speech.

“When you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn't turn out the way you want it to, but you don't pout, you don't whine. You don't claim the election was stolen… You don't manufacture some excuse,” Cassidy said, referencing Trump's claims about the 2020 election. “You thank the voters for the privilege of representing the state or the country for as long as you've had that privilege. And that's what I'm doing right now.”

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