Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said civil rights activist Al Sharpton's recent comments about former Harvard president Claudine Gay's resignation were "unconstitutional" and "morally wrong."
On Thursday, Sharpton's organization, National Action Network (NAN) protested outside billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman's New York office after Ackman led calls for Gay's resignation amid claims of antisemitism and plagiarism.
The Louisiana senator said Sharpton was entitled to his opinion, though disagreed with the civil rights activist during a Thursday appearance on Fox News' Hannity with host Sean Hannity.
"America is not perfect, but we are good," Kennedy said. "Like every other civilization, America caught the disease of slavery, but we beat it back and we're proud of that."
Kennedy referenced civil rights acts passed in the United States in 1866 and 1964.
"We've made a lot of racial progress in this country. And I think we've reached the point where most – not all, but most – Americans don't think that much about race," the Louisiana senator continued. "They think about character. They understand, as I've said before, that to a bear, we all taste like chicken."
Kennedy said Sharpton's comments were "unconstitutional and morally wrong," though conceded the civil rights activist was "entitled to his point of view."
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Kennedy praised Gay for her resignation as Harvard president earlier this week and said she had "no business running a university."
"The plagiarism allegations against her are serious," he continued. "I think most Americans found repugnant her suggestion – express or implied – that it might be OK to kill Jewish people in the proper context."
On Tuesday, Sharpton released a statement to X saying calls for Gay's resignation was "an attack on every Black woman in this country who's put a crack in the glass ceiling."
"It's an assault on the health, strength, and future of diversity, equity, and inclusion - at a time when Corporate America is trying to back out of billions of dollars in commitments," Sharpton added.
On Thursday, Sharpton led a group of protestors outside Ackman's office chanting, "No justice, no peace!"
"We're here because they have said they are after DEI," the civil rights activist said of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies implemented by employers and educational institutions.
"They were able to end affirmative action," Sharpton said of the Supreme Court of the United States' 2023 decision to end affirmative action in higher education. "This is a war on civil rights."
The civil rights activist said Gay's resignation would be used to target black, gay, female, Latino and Asian Americans.
"We will not allow that to happen ... We will not let them end DEI," he added.
