U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) is much admired by MAGA supporters for his folksy, corn-pone accent. When he utters carefully scripted lines such as "criminals who have rap sheets as long as King Kong's arm," his supporters swoon. He's one of us!
But like everything else about him, the Oxford-educated, multi-millionaire, former Democrat Senator's Gomer Pyle accent is a manufactured product, designed to project a good ol' boy image.
From The Guardian:
"Before he got to the Senate, Kennedy never pretended to be a hick," said Robert Mann, mass communication professor at Louisiana State University and author of Backrooms and Bayous: My Life in Louisiana Politics. "Instead, he usually acted like the well-educated, affluent person that he is."
Mann said that while Kennedy was a member of the Democratic party during a prior role as the Louisiana state government's treasurer, he was one of the most outspoken critics of the governor at the time: Bobby Jindal, a Republican. But once he switched parties and entered the national political scene, Kennedy literally changed his tune.
"After he got to the Senate and realized that Fox News and its viewers enjoyed his shtick, he went all in on this new persona," Mann said. "The Kennedy of 2005 or 2008 is a completely different person in style and tone from the one you see today on the TV."
The most recent person to point this out is Gary Chambers, who is running against Kennedy in the next election. In this campaign video, Chambers shows videos of Kennedy before and after he adopted the full Foghorn Leghorn persona. The difference is astounding.
Here's a video documenting Kennedy's fake accent that his opponent, @GaryChambersJr made. Give it a RT and Gary a follow. pic.twitter.com/Q3SG1PA93X
— Justin Horwitz (@JustinAHorwitz) March 23, 2022
