Congress has a 10% approval rating right now.
John Kennedy just went viral for introducing his elliptical trainer to the internet.
And the gap between those two facts is exactly why conservatives across America can't get enough of this man.
Meet Margaret
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., posted a video Friday that has racked up thousands of reactions – and it has absolutely nothing to do with legislation.
Kennedy walked up to his elliptical trainer under his carport, looked directly into the camera, and introduced her to the world.
"Hey X, I have somebody I'd like you to meet," he said. "This is Margaret. Margaret is my elliptical trainer. I named Margaret after Margaret Thatcher because both kick butt and take names."
https://twitter.com/SenJohnKennedy/status/2055373434788425774?s=20
Margaret lives outside under Kennedy's Louisiana carport for three reasons.
She's too heavy to move.
His wife won't let her inside.
And Kennedy says he enjoys working out in Louisiana summer heat.
"After Margaret kicks my butt, I look for air conditioning," he deadpanned.
He closed the video the same way he closes everything – by making you smile while the point lands harder than it had any right to.
"My work here is done. And I can see myself out."
This Is Why Normal People Love This Man
The internet roasted him for the red bandanna.
They loved him for everything else.
"You are rocking the dadgum crap outta that bandana," one user wrote. "I thought you were representing the Bloods for a minute. Tell Margaret I think she's cute but evil."
Another user put it simply: "You are a gem to us normal folk Mr. Kennedy. Live long and prosper!"
A third captured something more poetic: "Senator Kennedy is that kind of Southerner that makes you feel you're sitting on the front porch having some bit of common sense enlighten you in that poetic Southern way."
Normal folk.
Congress sits at 10% approval – near the all-time low of 9% recorded in 2013, according to Gallup.
https://twitter.com/WillCainShow/status/2055362668341411880?s=20
Eight in ten Americans actively disapprove of the United States Senate.
Then along comes a man in a bandanna sweating in his carport in Louisiana, introducing his elliptical trainer by name, explaining why she lives outside, and signing off with a one-liner.
And the internet says: that one's ours.
The Thatcher Connection Is the Whole Story
Kennedy didn't name his machine after just any tough woman.
He named her after the Iron Lady – the woman who stared down the Soviet Union, broke the unions, won three straight elections, and when colleagues begged her to reverse course on her economic policies, told them: "You turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning."
Thatcher didn't win because she was likable.
She won because she was right, she knew it, and she didn't blink.
Kennedy naming his pain-delivery machine after her isn't a quirky detail.
It's a philosophy.
https://twitter.com/BetsyClagettRN/status/2055423873873584466?s=20
He's spent years in the Senate delivering lines that don't just land – they stick.
He once said he trusted Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea like he trusted a Jussie Smollett police report.
He described Democrats as "running around like they found a hair in their biscuit."
The carport video is the latest chapter in the same story: a man who is completely, identically himself whether the cameras are rolling or not.
That's not a strategy. That's a character.
And in a Congress that 80% of Americans have written off, it may be the rarest thing in Washington, D.C.
Sources:
- Jasmine Baehr, "Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy Introduces America to 'Margaret' — His Elliptical Trainer Named After Thatcher," Fox News, May 16, 2026.
- Sen. John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy), video post, X (formerly Twitter), May 16, 2026.
- "Congressional Approval Rating Trends: 15% in 2026," Gallup/Quorum, March 20, 2026.