Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy was called out after he griped about Vice President Kamala Harris "talking about tampons" on the Call Her Daddy podcast, claiming to Fox News that victims of Hurricane Helene "don’t give a function about tampons."
Helene, which made landfall in Florida last month as a Category 4 storm, has claimed over 230 lives and caused an estimated $230 billion in damages throughout the Southeast. It is the deadliest hurricane to strike the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005. Half of the victims are women, and many more may be menstruating individuals in need of hygiene products in the aftermath.
Although Harris primarily focused on reproductive rights during the podcast, at one point, host Alex Cooper mentioned that women on TikTok sometimes ask men how tampons are used, and many men are unsure. Harris laughed and noted that she was the first vice president in history to visit a reproductive health clinic.
Cooper’s comment was the only mention of tampons throughout the entire podcast—not that that stopped Kennedy from lashing out at Harris in the following remarks during an interview with network personality Sean Hannity:
“Finally, last couple of days, the vice president goes on some show called Call Her Daddy or Call Your Daddy or Who’s Your Daddy or something … and among other things, she’s talking about tampons."
"You know, the people of Appalachia right now don’t give a function about tampons. They need water. They need to get out. I’m sorry, I’ll say it again: You cannot make this stuff up but everything I just said is fact.”
You can hear what he said in the video below.
More than 34 million Americans use menstrual products, with 70% relying on tampons. These products are essential, not a luxury. Prolonging the use of a single tampon can lead to health issues and increase the risk of toxic shock syndrome, a serious and possibly life-threatening infection. In crises, access to tampons becomes even more critical.
Kennedy was highly criticized for his remarks.
Kennedy's comments also highlight his hypocrisy regarding natural disasters.
As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Kennedy has pushed for disaster relief for Louisiana to help with hurricane recovery. He has sought to reform the National Flood Insurance Program, arguing that flood insurance is prohibitively expensive for coastal communities, including those in Louisiana.
In 2023, he urged FEMA to reveal the algorithm it uses to set flood insurance rates after premiums surged under FEMA's Risk Rating 2.0, stating that "since millions of Louisianians depend on the NFIP to protect their homes from natural disasters, FEMA must come clean about why premiums are skyrocketing."
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