Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) says the country needs a simple rule: no politician gets a building named after himself while he’s still alive. The Louisiana Republican made the case Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” pointing to a practice he says his home state already follows.
The remark came as host Margaret Brennan pressed Kennedy on a 30-second advertisement airing across major and cable networks that features President Trump and closes with the line “paid for by the U.S. government.” A voice in the ad calls Trump “the toughest, most resilient person I ever met.”
Brennan asked Kennedy whether the spot amounted to the best use of taxpayer money. Kennedy first turned to a separate episode he’d raised previously involving then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who he said spent $220 million on commercials promoting herself.
“What she did was master class dumb. She spent $220 million on commercials about her, and I called her out on it,” Kennedy said.
When Brennan noted that the ad in question looked more like a commercial for President Trump, Kennedy said the principle should apply across the board.
“I don’t think any public official, including President Trump or Kristi Noem or John Kennedy, should spend public money on private ads for themselves,” Kennedy said, adding that the White House “sees it differently.”
Kennedy said he suspects a rule against using public funds to promote officeholders already exists in some form, but he went further, floating a second rule aimed at self-glorifying displays paid for or sanctioned with public resources.
“I also think that we ought to have a rule that no politician can have a building named after him while he’s alive. I think that would settle a lot of this controversy. We have that rule in Louisiana. It works pretty well,” Kennedy said.
Brennan responded by telling Kennedy she’d be watching to see if he introduces such legislation.
Kennedy did not say whether he plans to formally propose either measure at the federal level.
