Sen. John Kennedy

**Theo Von** (0:00)
You know, America's 250th birthday is coming up. Whoo, that's gonna be a big cake. And who's even gonna blow out the candles on one? Probably, maybe Thomas Jefferson will come down from the clouds and huff and puff a few out. Maybe Betsy Ross or Frederick Douglass. I don't know somebody who's gonna come on down and just huff and puff them cake candles out. But happy 250th, America. And an iconic summer like this deserves an iconic drink. I'm talking about Mountain Dew. Yep, an American original. From their beginnings in the foothills of Tennessee, yeah, that's where they started, to the biggest Fourth of July yet, the refreshing citrus kick of Mountain Dew is the perfect companion to your American summer adventures. USA, baby. And, you know, I get that taste of Mountain Dew in me and it just, oh, just makes my ankles start talking to each other. God, I love it. Enjoy the refreshing kick of Mountain Dew, an American original, tasting great since 48 Look for American Dew Limited Time Packaging or find it in stores near you at mountain dew.com. That's mountain dew.com. Today's guest is a United States senator representing the great state of Louisiana. He currently resides in St. Tammany Parish, which is the place that I'm from.
This is episode 666 of this podcast, but we stand with the Lord.
He's got a book out called How to Test Negative for Stupid, and Why Washington Never Will. It's an honor to spend time with one of the most humorous senators in our history, Mr. John Kennedy.
Man, it's awesome, dude. What an honor just to see you.

**John Kennedy** (2:07)
What an honor, man.

**Theo Von** (2:08)
And yeah, thank you, man.

**John Kennedy** (2:10)
You're quite welcome.

**Theo Von** (2:11)
Thank you, John, for representing our state. Thank you. Yeah, and I appreciate that. We've had a lot of good Louisianians on here. We've had Lainey Wilson on here. Mark Norman is a famous comedian. Dustin Poirier, our UFC legend. Kevin Gates, Boosie, who's a rapper out of Baton Rouge.
The Suicide Boys, for sure. Scrimm and Ruby, and you.
So it's an honor, man. What brings you over to Nashville, actually? I know you went to Vanderbilt, right?

**John Kennedy** (2:41)
I did go to Vanderbilt. Bill Hagerty is one of Tennessee senators, and they're having a big function tonight. And he asked me to speak.
And I said, sure, I'll come. I'll just fly in. And it just so happened we were doing your show, so it all worked out perfectly.

**Theo Von** (2:59)
Oh, that's awesome, man.

**John Kennedy** (3:01)
Yeah, so I'll go wherever we're going, guys. I'll change into a suit and go over there and speak and cut up.
Nashville's gotten so big, Theo.

**Theo Von** (3:12)
Yeah, how's it changed? It's turned into a real, I'll say this, a tourist destination. I feel like even more probably than it was when you were here.

**John Kennedy** (3:20)
Yep. Well, Nashville, even when I was here, was a banking and insurance center.

**Theo Von** (3:27)
Okay.

**John Kennedy** (3:27)
Now it's so much more. It's health care, it's tech. It's for the wild. Nashville was the fastest growing city for young people in the country. Now it's probably still in the top 10

**Theo Von** (3:39)
I think it's still a good place to bum a can of skull off of somebody, too.

**John Kennedy** (3:42)
You got it, man.

**Theo Von** (3:43)
You know, that's never lost it.

**John Kennedy** (3:45)
It's a very diverse city. Yeah.
And it's, you know, Knoxville used to be the big city, and Knoxville is still pretty big, but now Nashville is kind of where the action is. It's always been country music.

**Theo Von** (3:59)
Yeah.

**John Kennedy** (4:00)
A lot of good comedians came out of Nashville.

**Theo Von** (4:03)
Yeah, that's a good point. People even think about that Nate Bargatze is one. Yep. Oh, I know that you grew up near where Jerry Clower is from, and he's my favorite comedian. Yep.

**John Kennedy** (4:11)
I grew up in a little town called Zachary.

**Theo Von** (4:14)
Yeah. Did you ever get to see Jerry?

**John Kennedy** (4:16)
I saw him on TV.

**Theo Von** (4:17)
Yeah, that's it.

**John Kennedy** (4:18)
Never met him. Yeah.

**Theo Von** (4:20)
Yeah, he was like an idol of mine growing up.

**John Kennedy** (4:22)
Funny.

**Theo Von** (4:23)
Oh, yeah, dude. He was one of the best. He still is. I just saw an auction actually over there, auction off his suit that he wore. I think I'm going to get that. I don't know if I'll ever wear it, but I think I'm going to get it.