Friday on CNN’s “The Lead,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) criticized House Ways and Means Committee Chair Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) for requesting President Donald Trump’s tax returns.

Kennedy said, “I will be very blunt. Chairman Neal, powerful man, head of Ways and Means, I know he’s an adult, but I don’t think he’s like a real adult. He says that he needs Trump’s tax returns. He says it’s policy, not politics. He has said, I think on CNN, that the reason he needs them is that he needs to determine how well the IRS is auditing taxpayers. I can’t believe he really thinks the American people are going to fall for that. It must really suck to be that dumb.”

He continued, “Look, this is very simple. Mr. Neal wants to screw with the president. He doesn’t think the president ought to be president. Well, you know, words can’t express how much I don’t care. It’s not Mr. Neal’s call. The American people have chosen Donald Trump as president. If you don’t like it, in two years, you can vote against him. In the meantime, don’t screw with him, let him try to be president.”

He added, “Now, Mr. Neal is not in good faith. Nobody believes he’s in good faith. This is wildly dishonest. This is thoroughly in bad faith. And I don’t blame the president for pushing back. There’s no requirement that he turn over his taxes. If I were running for president, would I turn over my taxes? Yeah. But there’s no requirement. And Trump said, ‘I’m not going to turn over my taxes, they’re being audited.’ The American people knew that when they voted for him or didn’t vote for him. He won the election. And Mr. Neal, you know, I don’t mean any disrespect, but he’s not fooling anybody. He just wants to get these taxes to screw with the president.”

Host Jake Tapper said, “You said you don’t mean any disrespect, but you said, ‘It must suck to be that dumb.’ Let me just take the opportunity to say to Chairman Neal, if he wants to come on the show, he is more than welcome to come and defend himself.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN