Overview

• During a July 22 Fox Business interview with Larry Kudlow, Sen. John Neely Kennedy froze mid-sentence while answering a question.
• Kudlow cut away abruptly, exclaiming “More technical problems!” despite Kennedy’s microphone functioning before and after the pause.
• Kennedy had been discussing how “Jesus loves” immigrants in response to a question about the Trump administration’s sanctuary city policy.
• The incident is the latest on-air lapse by veteran Senate Republicans, following freezes by Mitch McConnell and an audio hiccup by Rand Paul.
• Observers say these recurring gaffes are intensifying scrutiny of senators’ public-speaking fitness and the network’s handling of live errors.