NEW ORLEANS: WORST TERRORISM NEWS BRIEFING IN OUR HISTORY - 1.1.25

Countdown with Keith Olbermann

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Politics, News, Sports

4.7 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 1 January 2025

⏱️ 12 minutes

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Summary

SEASON 3 EPISODE 83: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

Bulletin (1:45) In the worst post-disaster, post-terrorism news conference in our history, a string of elected officials and police and other law enforcement officers somehow managed to make worse a terror tragedy that has left at least ten people dead in the French Quarter of New Orleans on New Year's Day.

If the least sophisticated form of terrorism – a car driving onto a sidewalk and then into a crowd on the street during holiday celebrations – happens in a city known for crowds on the street during holiday celebrations – do not congratulate each other on the great job you’ve done and will do - and get mad at reporters for asking how the hell it happened.

And most of all, Superintendent of Police Anne Kirkpatrick and Captain LeJon Roberts, do not explain as if it were the most natural thing in the world, that the bollards – the removable stainless still blocks designed to keep terrorists from driving onto pedestrian-filled streets – that you bought a decade ago didn’t work right so two months ago you started to replace them and you have the new ones ready to go and they’ll provide total safety only they weren’t there on New Year’s Eve so you had a police car blocking the road but that the terrorist simply drove up onto the sidewalk instead.

And then to listen to Senator John Kennedy, the Foghorn Leghorn of American politics, and Governor Jeff Landry, with the tone and stupidity of a supervisor of a chain gang, try to score political points, foment conspiracy theories, make jokes while bodies still lay on the streets, and assure everyone The Sugar Bowl (and, in a month) the Super Bowl will be safe because he, Landry The Human Talisman, will be there - combined with the lies of Trump and Marjorie Greene about the Texas-born terrorist being an immigrant - add up to this: the non-rank-and-file people responsible for protecting New Orleans last night didn't know what they were doing last night, and they don't know what they are doing today.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Countdown with Keith Olderman is a production of IHeart Radio.
0:11.7	This is a countdown bulletin podcast.
0:15.1	It was, in short, the worst post-disaster news conference in our modern American history.
0:22.7	After the terrorist attack in New Orleans that killed at least 10 people when a Texas-born army veteran drove into a New Year's Eve
0:28.6	crowd in the French quarter, ran people over, shot at them, shot at police, and prepared,
0:34.9	apparently, to disperse IEDs, improvised explosive devices he had brought with
0:39.9	him, and he had, according to the FBI, the help of others, and the suspect was then shot and killed.
0:46.8	And Wednesday afternoon, New Year's Day, the authorities in New Orleans somehow managed to make
0:51.9	it worse. The mayor, the governor, the senator, the chief of police.
0:57.5	If the least sophisticated form of terrorism, a car driving into a crowd on a closed street
1:05.0	during holiday celebrations happens in a city known for crowds on a street closed during holiday celebrations,
1:14.2	do not stand there and congratulate each other on the great job you have done and the great
1:19.6	job you are going to do and do not get mad at reporters for asking how in the hell this
1:25.5	happened. If you do not have information to share,
1:29.4	don't share it. Don't blame reporters at a news conference you have called for asking questions.
1:37.1	If you don't want to share the information, Governor Landry, don't share it. Don't act arrogantly
1:44.0	and condescendingly towards reporters
1:46.0	asking questions on behalf of a terrified public. The reporters do not know in advance that you
1:52.6	are going to refuse to answer their questions. That's why they are asking the questions.
1:57.6	And most of all, Superintendent of Police and Kirkpatrick and Captain Lejon Roberts do not explain as if this were the most natural thing in the world that the bollards, the removable stainless steel blocks designed to keep terrorists from driving onto pedestrian-filled streets or into buildings.
2:17.4	The bollards that you bought a decade ago that they did not work. from driving onto pedestrian-filled streets or into buildings.
2:23.7	The bollards that you bought a decade ago, that they did not work correctly, that they got stuck.
	...

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