Scott Jennings Cnn

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an 10 26

CNN tries to pretend its MAGA scandal 'never happened': report

CNN has a growing problem on its hands as its outspoken MAGA pundit Scott Jennings finds himself in serious legal hot water, and as one journalist argued, it is not a problem that they can keep pretending "never happened."

Earlier this week, Jennings, CNN's resident Trump-supporting pundit, was sued in a Washington D.C., federal court by Hasan Piker, a popular leftist Twitch streamer whom Republicans have attempted to exploit as an allegedly extremist boogeyman to damage certain Democratic midterm candidates. Piker accused Jennings of defamation, citing an August episode of the former's radio show in which he said that Piker was "out there calling for Black voters to be lynched."

Piker is seeking $72.5 million in damages from the clip, which appeared to have been picked up by Jennings' show after it was shared on social media by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The lawsuit explains how the clip was faked using pieces of three different streams, cutting out the part when Piker said "He said" about the Black voters comment, which showed that he was mocking comments made by someone else.

Writing about the situation for his personal blog, veteran reporter and Mediaite founder Colby Hall noted that the extent of the coverage CNN has given to the lawsuit has been "64 words that [aggregate] Variety’s reporting for the Reliable Sources newsletter" on its website, with no mention of the story on-air.

"CNN has extensively covered Piker for the better part of the last year, often as a progressive problem for Democrats," Hall explained. "He’s unquestionably become a major political figure, as has Jennings, so the complete lack of coverage of a lawsuit Piker filed against its own contributor is conspicuous at best. I reached out to CNN for comment on why they have not covered a significant story featuring one of their most prominent commentators. They have not replied."

He added further: "I get it. Jennings is a CNN contributor, not an anchor, and the network pays him for the hours he’s giving click-friendly hot takes. Salem pays him for his radio show and should be held responsible for what it airs. Networks increasingly feature panelists better known from other platforms, where the incentive is to be the most provocative version one can be. Networks get livelier panels, but don’t take responsibility for what the panelists say elsewhere. Television shows are watched, and headlines are clicked... This situation is much harder to dismiss because Jennings isn’t just your run-of-the-mill CNN panelist. The network effectively built a show around him and relies on his point of view for every debate, convention, and major speech. A federal lawsuit accusing one of the network’s most prominent conservatives of inventing a quote is a big deal. Entirely ignoring it on air feels like a failure."

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A conservative commentator for CNN who has long been reported "thirsty" for a job working for Washington Republicans just got publicly insulted for not being picked as President Donald Trump's new press secretary.

"Sorry you lost your race too, @ScottJenningsKY," Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for United States Senate in her state earlier this year, posted on X on Friday.

Instead the White House chose Katherine Zacharia, who was described by Reuters as "a communications adviser for President Donald Trump's Truth Social platform. Her selection was characterized as one that "would put Zacharia at the center of the White ⁠House's public messaging operation in the final stretch before the elections, when Trump's agenda and his party's control of Congress will be put before voters. Trump's approval rating fell to 32 percent — the lowest of his political career — as his fellow Republicans soured on his handling of the cost of living and the Iran war, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found."

Reuters added, "The selection of Zacharia underscores the close ties between Trump's administration and his broader political and media operation. It comes after Trump Media unveiled in July that for a fee it would give banks and ⁠trading firms 'the fastest' access to posts from influential Truth Social accounts, such as the president's, whose posts often move global markets."

All of this is likely cold comfort for Jennings, who has had more than his fair share of public embarrassments in October. Earlier this month, he attracted controversy for warning Trump that if Democrats win control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections, it would be bad for the country because they would simply investigate him.

"My other advice is that all of these arrangements, whether it’s this one or anything else, you really, really have to dot all your I’s, cross all your T’s and anticipate that every single bit of this is going to be investigated, should you lose control of either chamber,” Jennings said, continuing: “And you have to be ready to be fully transparent about that when that day comes.”

Jennings also came under fire for blaming Trump's economic problems on his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.

“His main problem is cost of living and most of the cost-of-living problems that we're dealing with in the country, he inherited," Jennings argued. “We still have a little bit of inflation, but it's largely normalized now. But most of the cost of living, he inherited it.”

He added, “… Certainly to a lot of Americans, you know, when prices spike the way they did during Biden, even going up 2 percent or 3 percent over the last two years, it feels like tacking on even more problems to their lives.”

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SPOX AUDITION K -> FIAL NOY POP W MAGA, Scott Jennings throws in the towel on GOP's disastrous attack on Jack Smith

EARTH2 // AI SLOP DAY BEF TRUMP TWT MISSION ACOMPL 2026

MMA

The delusional right-wing media figures declaring victory in Iran

The Trump administration’s war of aggression against Iran has failed to achieve its stated objectives. Just don’t tell that to its most die-hard sycophants.

Written by John Knefel

Published 08/28/26

By any objective metric, the Trump administration has failed in its war of aggression against Iran. Once maximalist goals of destroying Iran’s nonexistent nuclear weapons program have been tabled. In the United States, energy costs — especially diesel fuel — are skyrocketing, while missile stockpiles are dwindling. Iran has exerted control over the Strait of Hormuz, an outcome U.S. war planners had long predicted in the event of an extended conflict. Reports that the U.S. military has wrested control of the waterway should be taken with a shipping-freighter-sized grain of salt, as recent data shows that traffic through the strait dwindled on Thursday, and even days with the most activity only reached to about half of pre-war levels.

But what if all of that wasn’t the case? What if President Donald Trump had already won the war, and the only thing that was missing, geopolitically speaking, was the recognition of that fact? That would really be something. And, thanks to a set of especially sycophantic pundits aligned with the White House, that alternate reality is just one livestream or TV show away.

Fox News’ Sean Hannity, as reliable a hack for the Trump administration as you can find on cable news, argued on August 19 that the president hadn’t gotten enough “credit” for stopping Iran’s ability to build a nuclear bomb. (Of course, an obvious consequence of bombing a country, assassinating its leadership, and threatening to destroy its entire civilization is that the new government, entirely rationally, is more interested than ever in developing a nuclear deterrent to avoid such attacks being repeated.)

Hannity also claimed that Iran was “breaking financially,” though close observers believe it is well-positioned to withstand even escalated U.S. sanctions.

The next day, CNN contributor Scott Jennings — currently auditioning for the role of White House press secretary — was even more obsequious.

“It may be time for the president to declare victory in this war because it's obvious that we've won,” Jennings said on his YouTube show.

Video

Citation

From the August 19, 2026, edition of The Scott Jennings Show, streamed on YouTube

MAGA media influencer Benny Johnson was similarly shameless, titling an August 21 segment: “Iran's President SURRENDERS | Calls To 'End The War' With America Immediately As US CONQUERS Hormuz.” Then, on August 22: “Iran Thought They Won…Now It’s All OVER | How Trump Secretly DESTROYED Them Without a Single Bomb.”

Citation

From BennyJohnson.com, posted on August 21, 2026.

On August 24, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a series of punishing sanctions on Iran — a so-called “economic D-Day” — and much of the right-wing media coverage framed it as the latest sign of victory.

That morning, Fox News’ Lawrence Jones, echoing a recurring theme in right-wing media, argued, “You know what’s worse that no new wars — and this is not a new war, this has been going on 47-plus years — is losing. And we're winning right now."

The chyron referenced a New York Post editorial headlined: “Trump is winning the Iran war— stay the course.”

Citation

From the official website of the New York Post, published August 23, 2026.

Citing Bessent’s comments, Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty claimed, “Despite what they’re saying about this war on CNN or MS NOW or in The New York Times, this war's about to end and America is about to win.”

Back on his YouTube show, Jennings offered a list of accomplishments the United States had not in fact accomplished.

“The United States has won the war against Iran,” Jennings said, arguing that “many in our political class refuse to acknowledge” this fact.

“Iran entered this war with four great pillars of strength: its nuclear program, its missiles and drones, its regional terror network, and its ability to hold the world economy hostage through the Strait of Hormuz,” Jennings said. “Every one of those pillars has been severely damaged or outright destroyed.”

Video

Citation

From the August 24, 2026, edition of The Scott Jennings Show, streamed on YouTube

On August 26, Trump posted an image on Truth Social reading, in part, “Mission Accomplished 2026.”

Like with Bessent’s announcement, the administration’s media allies ran with it.

Johnson once again painted a rosy picture of the conflict. “Iran is effectively admitting defeat,” he said. “The Iranian leadership is saying what we all know to be true, which is that you cannot fight a war if you cannot feed your army.”

Hannity boasted that “we have a nuclear-free Iran” among a list of Trump’s supposed successes — a thin accomplishment given that Iran has never had a nuclear weapon and U.S. intelligence agencies determined as recently as last summer it was not pursuing one.

Within the first few days after the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February, right-wing media figures were eager to declare victory. Half a year later, that outcome remains easier said than done.

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AN 8 26

Scott Jennings is sending video clips to White House staff in bid for job

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AN 7 26

The Washington Post, on Monday night, reported that former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) had "spent three weeks in the hospital" — although his office would not say why the 84-year-old senator was hospitalized, comment on his condition or say when he might be returning to work. Now, GOP strategist Scott Jennings — known for his relentless defense of President Donald Trump during CNN panel debates — is saying that he's been in touch with McConnell.

Jennings, in a Tuesday afternoon post on X, wrote, "I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky. He's still recovering in the hospital. We talked for just shy of 20 minutes … about IRAN, UKRAINE, the unfolding situation in MAINE, my visit to the TR Presidential Library, and even a little bit of Senate history. I told him we want to see him back at work as soon as possible."

On X, NOTUS' Al Weaver is reporting on McConnell's condition as well.

Weaver tweeted, "New: McConnell talked to [Senate Majority Leader John] Thune and Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) — yesterday and today, respectively. Per a Thune spox: 'Leader Thune spoke with Sen. McConnell yesterday by phone. They had a lengthy and substantive conversation that covered a variety of topics, including national security.'"

The NOTUS reporter also posted, "Via @Cooksey__: 'Senator Barrasso and Senator McConnell had a lengthy conversation early this afternoon. Their phone call lasted roughly 20 minutes. They caught up about the latest news impacting Senate races, the Graham Platner scandal, and the recent Supreme Court ruling on…. coordinated spending limits. They also discussed the Senate’s July work period, including the need to pass the NDAA and confirm President Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence. Senator McConnell was fully engaged and is eager to get back to the Senate."

McConnell, according to the Washington Post, has not cast a vote since June 11.

McConnell, who plans to leave the U.S. after his current term ends, was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984 and is now serving his seventh term.

Rep. Max Rose (D-New York), appearing on MS NOW, expressed skepticism over reports on McConnell — saying people were glossing over his "decline."

Jennings' Tuesday tweet and others on McConnell are generating a lot of responses on X.

X user Gianmarco Soresi tweeted, "Put him on speaker!

X user Ron Carlestrom angrily wrote, "Scott — as someone who ripped the Democrats apart for concealing [former President Joe] Biden's mental and cognitive decline, your optimism is insulting. @SenMcConnell is a shell of his former self and should resign immediately. It's weekend at Bernie's in DC and you know it."

Conservative X user James T. Purcell commented, "How about we let the guy recover, exit the hospital, and then make the decision. Biden was covered for over 3 years while the auto pen ran rampant."

MAGA poster Cory Wolfe wrote, "I can't believe we have prominent voices doing the same shit as the left did with Biden, it's disgusting and pathetic."

Tangle News' Isaac Saul wrote, "Someone isn't telling the truth."

When some X users accused Jennings of lying about McConnell, X user Tom Beckerle responded, "This guy isn’t wrecking his speaking/appearance career to lie about Mitch McConnell."

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TARGET BC HE IS DEM STRONG IN STATE BETO ALMOST TIPPED CALLS OUT GOP RT ON BEING BAD XIANS

AMAZING OVER THE TOP BILE FROM PAXTON SPEECH WIN PRIMARY -->

“Weird,” “vegan,” and “effeminate”: Right-wing media are attacking James Talarico based on lies and vibes

Right-wing pundits have resorted to calling Talarico disparaging nicknames like “Tofu Talarico,” “Tala-freak-o,” and “Beta O’Rourke”

Written by Gideon Taaffe & Sage Hodil

Research contributions from Jane Lee

Published 05/28/26

Right-wing media are lobbing attacks at Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico, resorting to playground insults and seeking to define him as “unlikable,” “gay,” and “against meat.”

• ## James Talarico has been under attack from high profile Republicans over false claims and misrepresentations of his beliefs since winning the Democratic nomination for Senate

• • Following Talarico’s Democratic primary win earlier this year, right-wing media attacked his faith as a Presbyterian seminarian.MAGA pundits called Talarico and his discussions of Christianity “blasphemous,” “demonic,” and “completely insane.” Media Matters, [3/5/26]

• • President Donald Trump has also attacked Talarico, falsely claiming he was a vegan.Trump told reporters, “I mean, this guy is bad news. His masking from relatively recently. And he's a vegan. He's a vegan. All of a sudden he's not a vegan.” The claim stems from a 2022 clip from Talarico’s campaign for state House in which he said he was running a “non-meat” campaign by buying vegan products at campaign events. Talarico has repeatedly denied being a vegan and has posted evidence of him eating a turkey leg. USA Today, [5/15/26; CNN, 5/25/26]

• • Republicans have also baselessly insinuated that Talarico is a pedophile or transgender.An official Republican social media account posted a photo of Talarico with the caption, “Hide your kids.” Additionally, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller claimed, referring to Talarico, “The Democrats made history in Texas by nominating their first transgender senate candidate.” Bluesky, [5/21/26; Them, 5/27/26]

• ## Right-wing media are falsely claiming Talarico is a vegan and mocking him as “weird”

• • War Roomhost Steve Bannon said Talarico “is a vegan who plays with dolls.” Real America’s Voice, *War Room*, [5/27/26]

• • The Charlie Kirk Showhost Andrew Kolvet listed off nicknames for Talarico including “Tofu Talarico,” “Tala-freak-o,” and “soy boy.”Kolvet also said Talarico is “objectively very weird.” Real America’s Voice, *The Charlie Kirk Show*, [5/27/26]

• • Podcaster Tim Pool called Talarico a “vegan, woke, weird sex guy.”YouTube, Timcast, [5/27/26]

• • Right-wing radio host Scott Jennings attacked Talarico, saying, “Today, perhaps he has committed the most unforgivable sin that a candidate can commit in Texas: He has come out against meat.” Jennings then played the clip from 2022 of Talarico talking about his “non-meat” campaign and stated, “I don’t know a single male, in fact, who talks this way.” Salem News Channel, *The Scott Jennings Show*, [3/18/26]

• • Fox & Friendsco-host Lawrence Jones attacked Talarico for being a vegan in Texas, saying, “The brisket capital of the world. Right. Unelectable.”Jones continued, “That's just like going to Texas and saying get rid of all the Whataburgers. It doesn't work. And, you know, if you want him at the top of the ticket, go for it.” Fox News, *Fox & Friends*, [3/20/26]

• • Fox News anchor Dana Perino said onThe Fivethat Talarico is “against meat.”Fox News host Greg Gutfeld reacted to Talarico wearing a mask in 2022, saying, “He may not eat meat but he doesn't have any balls, that's for sure. What a pathetic individual.” Fox News, *The Five*, [3/19/26]

• • Podcast host Megyn Kelly called Talarico “weird and unlikable.”SiriusXM, *The Megyn Kelly Show*, [5/20/26]

• • OnThe Ingraham Angle, Fox News contributor Ben Domenech said, “James Talarico is, quite frankly, a gigantic weirdo and believes insane things.”Fox News,*The Ingraham Angle*, [5/26/26]

• • Newsmax host Rob Finnerty claimed, “James Talarico is insane, and I mean that literally.” Newsmax, *Finnerty*, [5/26/26]

• • Jennings said of Talarico, “Democrats down there have nominated one of the biggest weirdos in America.” Salem Radio Network, *The Scott Jennings Show*, [5/26/26]

• • While discussing Democrats’ nomination of Talarico in Texas, Fox News host Charlie Hurt said Democrats are “doing everything they can to pick the weirdest people.”Hurt stated, “Don't nominate weird candidates to represent your party. That's all you have to do. And it's like they're doing everything they can to pick the weirdest people.” Fox News, *Hannity*, [3/23/26]

• ## Right-wing media have questioned Talarico’s masculinity and sexuality

• • Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro said, “Talarico is the slightly more gay Pete Buttigieg.”The Daily Wire,*The Ben Shapiro Show*, [5/20/26]

• • Megyn Kelly said Talarico reminds her of “a little boy with an unusually mismatched deep voice.” She continued, “When you just listen to him, like the people listening to this on SiriusXM or on podcast, I think you would picture a much larger, more manly man. Then you see this guy, and it's like, don't you have, like, to get back to school for your PE class? Look at him. He's just like — he looks like — he needs to wear a tie too, and he's one of those politicians who should be praying that he goes prematurely gray just to be taken a little bit more seriously.” SiriusXM, *The Megyn Kelly Show*, [5/27/26]

• • On Fox News, podcaster Benny Johnson said Democrats have “given up on masculinity” and called Talarico an “effeminate, estrogenetic, catty, and totally embarrassing” candidate.Johnson also referred to Talarico as “Beta O’Rourke” and ranted: “This guy is the Dylan Mulvaney Bud Light ad of political campaigns. Clearly Michelle Obama has more testosterone than Talarico. James Talarico is a guy who could be played by Elliot Page in a new Christopher Nolan movie, or a Subaru ad.” Fox News,*Jesse Watters Primetime*, [5/28/26]

• • Newsmax host Carl Higbie referred to Talarico as “low T” and said he has “weird perverted” rhetoric regarding trans kids.Reacting to a clip in which Talarico said he loves trans children, Higbie lashed out: “You pervert. You disgusting, child mutilating freakshow of a human being.” Newsmax,*Carl Higbie Frontline*, [5/25/26]

• • OnThe Five, co-host Jesse Watters said “Tala-freak-o” looks “prepubescent” before joking, “Yes, a gay vegan is definitely going to win in Texas.”Fox contributor Lisa Kennedy Montgomery called Talarico a “baby lotion soft child” and a “beta male,” saying he looks “prepubescent” and that he “put the semen in seminarian.” Fox News, *The Five*, [5/27/26]

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CONTEXT

A CNN panel found itself in the uncommon position of ganging up on one of its own panelists after she defended the proposal of a slush fundentirely orchestrated by President Donald Trump’s handpicked board members.

“I mean, I would push back on that a little bit. What you call the slush fund I call the anti-weaponization fund,” right-wing podcaster Emily Austin. “I'm sure on both sides of the aisle, we all have friends whose lives have been absolutely ruined, whether they were innocent. And you said that this is going to people who assaulted police officers on January 6^th, ^But the truth is, we don't know where this money is going yet. … But I actually I view this as something very altruistic. Trump did not take the money and put it in his pocket like he could have.”

“Well, there lies the root of the problem,” said U.S. Democratic candidate Isaiah Martin. “You just said the very simple fact that we're not going to know exactly who gets this money. I know that there was this testimony inside of the United States Congress in which they said that there's really no rules behind what's going to happen. … You don't think that that's absurd, that the president of the United States can create a fund and divvy payments to people, and we don't know who the money goes to?”

Host Alyssa Farah Griffin asked Austin her opinion of Trump’s second proposal removing the IRS's power to investigate or prosecute him or his family over taxes, forever.

“Obviously, optically, it looks horrendous,” Austin answered.

“Because it ishorrendous,” quipped Martin.

“But there's also an unprecedented amount of persecution when it comes to the Trump and the Trump family. There has never been a president that has been persecuted as much as Donald Trump,” Austin insisted.

“We’ve never had a president who did what he did,” inserted author and panelist Josh Rogin, referencing Trump’s many indictments, ranging from hiding illicit hush money to attempting to overthrow a legitimate U.S. election. “… This is a pattern of the president of the United States pilfering from the national coffers to serve his own political and personal ends. We have the Board of Peace, billions of dollars of taxpayer money without any congressional authorization or oversight. You've got all of the stock trades that he's made, $750 million worth of stock trades on issues that he's adjudicating. This is a level of self-dealing and corruption that no one has seen before. And you have to view this slush fund in that context.”

“If President Obama sued his own department or his own IRS and settled with himself, I guarantee you that you and every conservative on Fox would be running around screaming for impeachment,” Martin told Austin. “You guys would be trying to throw him an Alligator Alcatraz.”

AN 5 26

Anchor plops Trumper in hotseat over president’s 'grift' - Alternet.org

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AN 4 26

Republican strategist and President Donald Trump supporter Scott Jennings during a CNN panel discussion over voter apathy, arguing that voters are weary of partisan attacks on the other side while simultaneously attacking liberals as anti-American.

CNN anchor Kasie Hunt ticked off survey numbers at the panel table revealing that only 36 percent of people feel the United States is the greatest country and 41 percent believing it is only one of the world’s greatest nations. But 23 percent of people proclaimed flatly that “we're not one of the greatest countries.”

After a table discussion on divided U.S. politics, Jennings put Democrats in the 23 percent.

“If you look at the splits on that by politics … on how people feel about America, the promise of America, if you look at whether they're proud of their country or not … Republicans and conservatives are proud to be Americans, and it's Democrats and liberals who are not,” Jennings told the panel. “… I think there's a political movement in this country right now built on telling people that America is rotten at its core.”

Former White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield accused Jennings of “being the problem.”

“This point about partisan divide and the way you're breaking down partisan divide is exactly the problem,” Bedingfield said. “This is exactly why people [fell this way.”

“The problem, to tell you the truth about the numbers?”

“No, Scott. Give me a break. Like, come on,” pressed Bedingfield, who used to work on the Biden White House. “The fact that we are in an era where our politics is so personally vicious, even if you are not willing to concede the idea that Americans don't feel optimistic about the future. You must be willing to concede that our politics right now is personal, vicious, divided, ugly in a way that turns regular people off so they don’t engage.”

“We have we have Democrats cheering for Iran,” Jennings countered, without mentioning the number of MAGA who personally cheer Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s attack on its neighboring democracy of Ukraine.

“Oh, what’s the point,” said Bedingfield.

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AN 1 26

CNN staff finally revolt over conservative commentator Scott Jennings

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AN 1 26

CNN slammed for employing 'Scumbag Scott' Jennings after he was caught misquoting Tim Walz

Carl Gibson

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an 11 25

Ex-GOP strategist tears apart CNN Trump 'shill’s' flawed 'rationalizations'

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an 11 25

MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell accused CNN of hiring a "paid liar" for President Donald Trump in a scathing rebuke of the network's controversial conservative contributor, according to The Daily Beast.

O'Donnell tore into CNN's "Trump-supporting CEO Mark Thompson" and singled out the network's Scott Jennings for "his unscrupulous views," they report.

"Everyone who remains has become much more careful in anything they might even think of saying about Donald Trump,” O’Donnell said on "The Last Word."

Jennings, in particular, O'Donnell noted, is someone who CNN “eagerly pays to lie every day and every night for Donald Trump."

And while Jennings emerged on TV as a more moderate conservative, over time, O'Donnell noted, he has become less moderate and more MAGA.

"When he first started appearing on television, he was capable of criticizing some of the more extreme Trump positions. ButScott Jennings figured out where the money is, and how he could get his own podcast, and decided to become the JD Vance of CNN," O'Donnell said.

Thompson has defended Jennings as "good TV" despite, The Daily Beast says, "being the object of ridicule during his many appearances on the network."

"Scott’s like d’Artagnan. He’s got his sword out and he’s got about four Democrats against him, but he spiked them all off,” Thompson said, comparing Jennings to the protagonist of the Three Musketeers.

“That’s much more like it. I think he’s a worthy opponent, as it were, for the Democrats in the room. And it makes not just good television, but also, in some ways, a slightly deeper testing of the ideas all the way around the table," Thompson said.

O'Donnell used his own show's ratings to dispel that rationale, saying, "Here’s how bad that television is that they make over there. The show that Scott Jennings frequents the most is on opposite this program. And that show, on a good night, gets half the audience of this show.“

"This program usually has an audience triple the size of the terrible, terrible television that Scott Jennings is delivering on the absurdly degraded version of CNN, presided over by the man who thinks lying for Donald Trump on TV is an honorable pursuit," O'Donnell said.

Jennings laughed it off onX, saying, " “No, Lawrence, I don’t have time to save your show.”

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AN 11 25

Trump's favorite CNN pundit gets laughed at by panel after GOP loses major elections

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AN 9 25

'Didn't work for you': CNN analyst confronts Trump's favorite pundit on political violence

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an 525

'Lies continuously': Ana Navarro wallops CNN’s Scott Jennings over Trump support

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WAPO

Democracy Dies in Darkness

How Scott Jennings became CNN’s go-to GOP pundit — and pugilist

The political strategist and Mitch McConnell acolyte once called Donald Trump an “authoritarian,” but now he’s the network’s resident Trump criticism deflector.

October 24, 2024

By Jeremy Barr

The 10 p.m. show on CNN hosted by journalist Abby Phillip is meant as a platform for freewheeling debate, with commentators of all political stripes duking it out over heated topics. But even longtime viewers of the show had to be surprised when, on Oct. 7, Republican pundit Scott Jennings angrily pointed his finger at two fellow panelists and intoned, “I don’t answer to you!”

One of the panelists, the academic Michael Eric Dyson, had seemed to anger Jennings by asking him whether he was disturbed by “any lies that Donald Trump is telling” before another panelist, the writer Jay Michaelson, asked Jennings for a specific example.

Even Dyson, who has a history of doing battle with Jennings, seemed taken aback by his outburst. “We’re having a conversation, Scott,” he said. “I’m just asking a question.” (Another panelist, former senator Al Franken, said “I don’t point my finger at people.”)

Times being what they are, the moment flared across social network feeds.

A former George W. Bush administration staffer and a longtime adviser to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) with a smooth Southern drawl, Jennings, 46, has risen the ranks over the past seven years to become CNN’s go-to Republican commentator. But while he began his tenure playing the role of “Reasonable Republican” on a network accused by conservatives of liberal bias, Jennings has emerged as something of a MAGA champion, dropping his “happy warrior” persona and harshly lampooning Democrats, who he said recently appear to “care more about dudes who want to become women than dudes who just want to be dudes.”

When Jennings is not defending Trump — or explaining him, depending on your perspective — he regularly takes on Trump’s opponents, often accusing them of hypocrisy.

That’s what happened during the Oct. 7 segment. Rather than taking on Trump’s comments, Jennings instead pointed out that Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have made their own share of misstatements.

Jennings, who did not agree to an interview for this story, previously used the same language on air when pushing back against CNN commentator Ana Navarro, who asked him whether comments made by Trump were racist. “I’m not going to sit here and answer for somebody,” he said. “... And I don’t answer to you, either.”

Although it can be hard to decipher between good television and real conflict on cable news, Jennings’s on-air clashes can get decidedly uncomfortable.

In 2019, Jennings snapped at a fellow panelist during a discussion of then-Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D), saying, “Don’t interrupt me.”

In 2022, Jennings blew up when Democratic strategist Jim Messina accused him of reading Republican talking points. “Do you have a single friend? You’re an absolute jerk,” Jennings responded. “... I don’t even know you, and you’ve come out here and insulted me.”

He has also upped his rhetoric. Last year, a CNN anchor told him to “keep this conversation respectful” after he referred to Hunter Biden as a “scumbag.”

In March, he referred to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) as “a public relations agent for Hamas,” language she referred to as “blatant Islamophobia and racism.”

In the past several months, Jennings has said the Democratic Party is “awash in antisemitism,” is “usually burning” American flags and doesn’t care about political violence.

Still, he delivers those broadsides with a smile, and he maintains good off-camera relationships with the people he battles with.

“If you want to insult me, go ahead,” he quipped at tech journalist Kara Swisher last week. “I’ll laugh through it.”

Like many traditional Republicans, Jennings wasn’t always a Trump supporter or defender. He initially worked on behalf of Jeb Bush’s presidential candidacy before eventually lobbying for Republicans to unite around Sen. Marco Rubio (Florida) to prevent Trump from getting the nomination.

In a March 2016 column in the Louisville Courier Journal, Jennings referred to Trump as an “authoritarian.”

“At the core of Trump’s candidacy is a call for greater executive authority, with willful disregard for the constitutional limits placed on our Chief Executive,” he wrote. “... Conservatives, no matter how angry, should reject Trump’s short-term salve, which might kill the pain today but may lead to a more damaging infection tomorrow.”

A month before the 2016 election, he wrote that Trump “has disrespected American prisoners of war, body-shamed a beauty queen, feuded with a Gold Star family, and tweeted at three o’clock in the morning about sex tapes.”

Jennings changed his tune after Trump took office, and he reportedly was considered for a position in his administration. One year after his warning about Trump, Jennings wrote another column for the Courier Journal, this time praising the early days of his presidency and lambasting the media.

Jennings soured on Trump again after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying on CNN that Trump “clearly violated his oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution to the best of [his] ability.” Seven months later, he referred to Trump as “the Florida man ... who sits with nothing much to do in his golf club but watch television.”

Once Trump was out of office, Jennings predicted that Republicans would lose in 2024 if they renominated the former president and strongly suggested that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would be a better option.

“We need a new nominee,” Jennings said in 2022, encouraging DeSantis a few months later to run and “beat his a--.”

But after Republican voters picked Trump again, Jennings moved back in his direction, even though he protests regularly on air that he doesn’t speak for the former president.

Despite his strong condemnation of the riot, he said in August that Democrats want Republicans to give up their values and vote for Harris “over one day.”

In June, after Trump proposed the idea of a migrant fight league that would eventually pit the winner against a UFC champion, Jennings dismissed his co-panelists’ concerns and said the former president was “drawing attention to the violent activity that we have seen in places all over this country.”

When a CNN panel criticized Trump for making false claims about the government’s response to Hurricane Helene earlier this month, Jennings retorted that “Donald Trump didn’t cause this hurricane. … It’s Donald Trump. He has things to say about the things that happen in this world.”

On Tuesday, Jennings deflected against criticism of Trump after the New York Times reported that his former chief of staff, John F. Kelly, claimed that he praised the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Jennings said that Kelly should instead focus his attention on college protesters who have demonstrated against Israel’s actions in Gaza. “There’s thousands of Hitlers running around this country right now, running around college campuses, running around New York City chasing Jewish people around, blocking their access on college campuses,” he said. “If you’re worried about Hitler and you’re talking about Donald Trump, maybe open your eyes and take in what’s happening on the American left in this country. Those are the Hitlers I’m worried about.”

On Wednesday, CNN anchor Jim Sciutto called out his colleague in a post on X. “We’ve seen false equivalencies offered before to defend Trump, but this one is so patently and offensively absurd given Hitler started the deadliest war in human history and carried out the Holocaust,” he wrote.

Longtime Democratic strategist David Axelrod, a co-panelist and friend, said in an interview with The Washington Post that Jennings is attempting a delicate balance.

“I think Scott’s trying to reconcile his role as a Republican and his instinct to want to support the nominee of the party with his devotion to and belief in the institutions of democracy,” he said. “As it became clear that Trump was going to be the nominee, he became more apt to articulate the point of view of a Republican supporting Trump. I think Scott in some ways looks around the table and says, ‘Well, somebody has got to do this, and that’s me.’”

Ben Ferguson, who served as a conservative contributor on CNN, said he has also seen a change in Jennings, whom he considers to be one of the best pundits on television these days.

“When Jennings got hired, I think CNN looked at him like an establishment conservative with an establishment Republican résumé,” he said. “But when you take fire from the extreme left every day and you’re put into a position where you have to fight back every day, it makes you into a more conservative individual. I think Scott is closer now to a MAGA conservative than he’s ever been.”

As Jennings has gained a higher profile on CNN, he has faced more questions about his credibility, even from his fellow panelists.

Last week, Swisher, the tech journalist, grew frustrated with Jennings when he refused to criticize Trump’s uneven performance at the Economic Club of Chicago. “You will never say he didn’t do well,” she said. In response, Jennings pulled out one recent example of criticism, when he said in July that Trump “did crap the bed” during a contentious interview at the National Association of Black Journalists conference.

During a segment in May, the anti-Trump lawyer George Conway accused Jennings of lying and asked rhetorically “why this network is paying Scott to say those lies.”

In September, Jennings called out Harris for saying that “Trump will be a dictator on Day 1,” astounding his fellow panelists who noted that the former president said so himself.

And when Jennings referred to campus protesters as “Hitlers” on Tuesday, Democratic commentator Bakari Sellers pushed back forcefully. “The line has been crossed,” he said. “You are over there, and the line is behind you to compare college students who are protesting for Palestinian rights to Adolf Hitler.”

Joe Lockhart, a former Clinton administration press secretary who served as a CNN contributor, took to Threads this summer to call out Jennings’s commentary about the July 13 Trump assassination attempt, which he said greatly differed from the serious conversations he had with Republicans on CNN.

“This is different,” he said. “... This is not only a threat to journalism but to democracy. Look at history. This shouldn’t be condoned and certainly shouldn’t be compensated.”

Even as Jennings faces growing blowback, though, he is unlikely to lose his perch at the network.

For one thing, he seems to know what he’s doing. In February 2023, Jennings was mocked for saying that President Joe Biden should announce during his State of the Union speech that he would not run again. He also predicted the reaction that Biden would get — “He would almost be a hero for having the guts to declare victory and turn this country over to the next generation” — when the president did just that in July.

Even more importantly, he’s a central cog in CNN’s political programming, which is intended to provide a variety of political perspectives, no matter how much doing so upsets the network’s contingent of left-leaning viewers.

In an interview last week with radio host Hugh Hewitt, Jennings said that CNN should be “commended” for bringing on conservatives.

“They don’t censor me,” Jennings added. “No one tells me what to say. Nobody tries to steer me in one direction or the other. They’ve only ever told me just to give my authentic opinion based on my values and experience, and I’ve tried to live up to that.”

Jennings said he views himself as the resident conservative and contrarian. “I think half the country needs a representative.”

“I think Scott is an eloquent exponent of a point of view, or at least explaining the point of view of the Republican Party that nominated Donald Trump,” Axelrod said. “We can argue whether that’s right or wrong, or we can sit around and fulminate about Trump and amen each other.”

And, in an industry dominated by television ratings and online traffic, it doesn’t hurt that Jennings’s segments often go viral, spreading widely on social media.

Cable news is an attention-based business, said a former CNN journalist who appeared on the air with Jennings but who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a former colleague. “People are nervous about jobs, and if you’re in a position where people are paying attention to you and getting headlines, then you realize that’s job security, so that’s the incentive structure,” the person said.

“The more Scott Jennings trends for being Scott Jennings the more CNN will give him air time,” former CNN contributor Wajahat Ali predicted on X this summer.

“You always need a heel,” Ali said in an interview, comparing cable news to professional wrestling. “You need good guys and bad guys. You need left versus right.”

If Harris wins, Jennings has the perfect place from which to attack what he’ll perceive as her administration’s failings. “Look, I’m geared against her,” he acknowledged during a segment last week.

And if Trump wins? “Scott will be very valuable to CNN for those four years,” said Jeffrey Lord, who was one of the network’s first pro-Trump contributors until he was ousted for tweeting “Sieg Heil!” at the president of a liberal media-monitoring organization.

Ferguson has another, perhaps more far-fetched, idea. “I think Scott has proven himself to be one of the best communicators on that stage. Could he serve an administration well as a press secretary? Absolutely.”

Jennings didn’t rule out the possibility of working for the Trump administration in a recent interview with the McClatchy news agency, though he said it would be “a major life upheaval.”

But it would also require him to work for the man he once dismissed as unfit for office.

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AN 2 25

CNN panel on Monday delved into the potential “constitutional calamity” awaiting the United States if the Trump Administration defies court orders from federal judges — which, some scholars argue, he's apt to do. During the segment, host Abby Phillip and guests clashed with Republican strategist Scott Jennings over the scope of Trump's executive power.

The panel was discussing reporting that indicates Trump is looking to defy court motions related to the two-term president's implementation of a spate of executive orders. [VID]

“Legal guru” and CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig on the distinction between a “constitutional crisis” and normal government function, suggesting it’s “not a constitutional crisis for a new president to come in and issue a spate of executive orders, even if liberals hate those executive orders."

READ MORE: 'Welcome to Trump’s America': 1 dead after Motley Crue lead singer’s jet collides with plane in AZ

“[It's] also not a constitutional crisis for scores of federal judges to block some or all of those," he continued. “That is the way our system is supposed to work."

“What happens next?” The CNN legal analyst asked. “We don’t have an answer to that. We are not at that point yet.”

Honig noted the Trump administration has gotten “a slew of really bad rulings” and is “making a lot of noise” about defying them.

Phillip pointed to an order from Rhode Island Chief District Judge John James McConnell Jr., who on Monday ruled the White House “has been violating his order to resume funding federal grants,” Politico reports. The CNN host asked Honig if that violation amounts to outright defiance from the administration.

READ MORE: 'Strategic bluster' or 'full-blown constitutional crisis'? Analysis warns of Trump’s 'nuclear option'

Honig replied that McConnell's order and the government response can be chalked up as “technical disputes,” which the analyst explained “are not uncommon in cases.”

Still, Honig pointed to a recent tweet by Vice President JD Vance that claimed “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power." A constitutional law expert on Monday argued Vance is floating a constitutional battle that "will define Trump’s presidency."

Phillip noted Vance’s use of the word “legitimate” is “doing a lot of work here.”

Strategist Jennings, agreeing with Vance, claimed the actual “constitutional crisis” is actually “caused by” federal judges.

READ MORE: Judge 'hints at possibility of contempt' for Trump officials 'violating' order to resume funding: report

“Correct political control is between the executive and the Congress, not some federal judge,” Jennings said, later insisting he wants to “let the Supreme Court" decide on the constitutionality of Trump's directives.

“Pray tell, how do we get to the Supreme Court?” Phillip asked. “Can somebody tell me?”

Jennings then brought up former President Joe Biden’s fight with the Supreme Court over student debt relief.

“‘The Supreme Court tried to stop me but they never will, but they never will!'” Jennings said, ostensibly quoting the former president.

READ MORE: Welcome to James Madison's nightmare

“Who said that?" Jennings demanded. "Biden!”

Honig, the CNN “legal guru,” retorted that while he, personally, “hated the student loan forgiveness policy,” and thought it was "ridiculous” and “unconstitutional,” Biden did not ignore the courts and instead “went and tried under a different law.”

“So he ignored it,” Jennings retorted as the panel erupted in protests.

Asked by Honig how a president should reply to a court order, Jennings claimed if a judge “tries to usurp the authority of the chief executive of this country, [the president] should absolutely defy it.”

READ MORE: Judge says he’ll consider Arizona fake electors’ free speech defense

“If I want a policy decided, I’ll take it to the Supreme Court!” Jennings insisted.

Phillip then took issue with Jennings' “bizarre, broad generalities,” disputing the GOP strategist's notion that the courts are issuing “broad swaths of policy" over the president's head.

“When the court says, ‘Congress appropriated this money, you must unfreeze it while we litigate this,’ why can’t Trump comply with that?” Phillip asked.

“Saying that a judge should decide how and when money is spent and not the president of the United States!" Jennings exclaimed.

READ MORE: Trump quietly fired head of office that protects whistleblowers: new lawsuit

“Let me explain it a little bit more slowly,” Phillip replied.

“You don’t have to talk to me like that,” Jennings shot back. “I have a position on this, you have an opinion, we can disagree.”

“Listen to me on this, because you’re not listening, and you’re making claims that are not connected to the facts,” Phillip said.

“Maybe you are,” Jennings retorted.

READ MORE: Trump to stop enforcement of law banning bribery of foreign officials

Watch the videos below or at this link.

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hotair blog --> redstate pj etc townhall 12 24

EARTH2 ON MUSK GOVT SHUTDOWN

Larry the Cable Guy tore into Democrat Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT) following her unhinged rant about House Republicans supposedly being "scared" of Elon Musk.

Let me repeat that. The guy who plays Mater — you know, like "tuh-mater," but without the "tuh" — is trying to break down simple concepts regarding congressional spending to a sitting congresswoman.

Now, don't get me wrong. Larry is a bright guy who created a brilliant character in the world of comedy. But DeLauro, as a Representative of the people, is supposed to be one of our best and brightest.

Instead, we get this.

IFrame Content

I'm sure Ms. DeLauro, who represents the fine state of Connecticut, is just doing what any good Democrat foot soldier has been doing the past few days. They got the memo to try and taunt President-elect Trump by declaring Musk as the real leader, and they're going at it full bore.

She claimed GOP representatives "agreed on a bill," but "You know what? They got scared because President Musk told them, President Musk said don’t do it."

To recap, what you’re looking at above is a sitting congresswoman with purple hair ranting like some sort of coked-up violet-backed starling, suggesting her colleagues are too scared to pass a bill that there is a 0% chance she read.

Connecticut — specifically the 3rd District — thisis the best you have to offer?

Larry the Cable Guy, real name Daniel Whitney, often shies away from politics due to the toxicity level of the unhinged on social media but has been openly suggesting on X that both political parties need to break the resolution down into standalone bills.

He furthered that argument by addressing DeLauro's "lunatic behavior."

"These are our best and brightest. Sheeesh. Why doesn’t Grandma purple hair and all the D’s and R’s draft stand alone bills?" Mr. Cable Guy wondered. "Hmm.. then they get pissed at Musk for providing a platform where taxpayers get to see the shenanigans in real time."

"I have a feeling punk rock retiree here is more upset they no longer have control of what Americans get to see."

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WIKI BROCHURE

TALK

Should we add a mention of the fact that Jennings defended Elon Musk's Nazi-like salute, claiming that it was an innocuous gesture, then refused to make the gesture himself when requested to do so by another CNN panelist? This seems like an important event in Jennings's on-screen career. Source: https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-ally-challenged-elon-musk-salute-scott-jennings-catherine-rampell-2022019 76.189.135.48 (talk) 04:44, 29 January 2025 (UTC)

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Scott Jennings (born October 26, 1977)^[1] is an American conservative political strategist and writer. He worked in the George W. Bush administration and has been described as an adviser to Senator Mitch McConnell.^[2] He is an opinion contributor for CNN, USA Today, and the Los Angeles Times.

President George W. Bush appointed Jennings to the position of special assistant to the president and deputy director of political affairs in February 2006.^[3] Jennings had previously served as a staff member of Bush's presidential campaign in Kentucky in 2000 and executive director of Bush's 2004 re-election campaign in New Mexico in 2004.

Jennings is a founding partner of RunSwitch Public Relations,^[4] Kentucky's largest public relations firm, since 2013.^[5] He has been writing a regular column for the Louisville Courier-Journal^[6] since 2013, and was signed as an on-air contributor by CNN in 2017.^[7] He is routinely cited as an adviser to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell,^[2] and was part of McConnell's campaigns for the U.S. Senate in 2002, 2008, and 2014. He joined the Los Angeles Times as a columnist in 2019.

Early life

A native of Dawson Springs, Kentucky, Jennings received his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Louisville in 2000 where he was a McConnell Scholar. While a student at the University of Louisville, Jennings was a news anchor and reporter for WHAS (AM) Radio. While at WHAS, Jennings won an award from the Associated Press for a series on the plight of the homeless living in downtown Louisville.

Career

Jennings served as political director for President George W. Bush's 2000 Kentucky campaign, and as campaign manager for Sen. Mitch McConnell's 2002 re-election campaign, Governor Ernie Fletcher's 2003 campaign, and Bush's campaign in New Mexico in 2004, before joining the White House. New Mexico was one of only two states to flip from blue to red in between 2000 and 2004; the other was Iowa. He served as associate director in the Office of Political Affairs at the White House before being named special assistant to the president in October 2005.^[8]

After leaving the White House, Jennings became Director of Strategic Development and Senior Strategist for Peritus Public Relations^[9] in Louisville, Kentucky, before co-founding RunSwitch PR in Louisville in 2012. Jennings is frequently quoted by media outlets as a political analyst. During the 2016 presidential election, he appeared frequently on the Fox News Channel and other outlets as a commentator discussing polling and the political news of the day.

In 2017, Jennings joined CNN^[10] as an on-air contributor. He has made hundreds of appearances on the network on AC360 with Anderson Cooper, The Lead with Jake Tapper, CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, and other programs.

In 2022, Jennings launched the podcast Flyover Country with Scott Jennings,^[11] which features commentary on local, state, and national political issues as well as interviews with Mitch McConnell, former Attorney General Daniel Cameron, commentator Erick Erickson, and others.

2004 Bush campaign in New Mexico

After losing New Mexico to Al Gore in 2000 by just 366 votes, President Bush's reelection campaign dispatched Jennings to manage its operations there. Jennings arrived in early 2004 to find a divided state Republican Party.^[12] Shortly after his arrival, the state party chairman, State Senator Ramsay Gorham, resigned both her chairmanship and legislative seat and moved out of the state. Jennings and Republican Party counterpart Jay McCleskey set about repairing the damaged party, recruiting 15,000 volunteers^[13] to execute a grassroots strategy that relied heavily on peer-to-peer, coalition-based activity. Bush ultimately won the state.

Political operations in Kentucky

Between 2000 and 2003, Jennings directed the political operations for Bush's presidential campaign, Senator Mitch McConnell's reelection campaign, and Ernie Fletcher's gubernatorial campaign. Bush defeated Al Gore in Kentucky, a state Bill Clinton won twice, with 56.5%,^[14] McConnell set a record by scoring 65 percent in his campaign,^[15] and Fletcher became the first Republican governor in Kentucky in over 30 years by winning 55 percent of the vote.^[16] Jennings resumed his work in Kentucky in 2008, helping U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, Congressman Brett Guthrie, and state legislative Republicans win their races.

In 2019, Jennings made television and radio ads for Attorney General Daniel Cameron,^[17] the first stand-alone African-American candidate to win statewide office in Kentucky.^[18]

GSA Hatch Act inquiry

In 2007, Jennings was mentioned in an inquiry into the politicization of the General Services Administration (GSA). At a Congressional hearing, witnesses testified that on January 26, 2007, Jennings was present at a meeting where GSA Administrator Lurita Doan "joined in a video conference earlier this year with top GSA political appointees, who discussed ways to help Republican candidates."^[19] On April 23, 2007, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) announced it was investigating the January video conference, to look at whether the political dealings of the White House had violated the Hatch Act.^[20]

While the OSC found that Doan violated the Hatch Act, Elaine Kaplan, Special Counsel during the Clinton Administration, said that "nothing in the OSC's investigative report suggests that anything improper had occurred before Doan initiated the discussion."^[21] Jennings' presentation was similar in nature to several others disclosed by the White House. Special Counsel Scott Bloch told the Washington Post, "Political forecasts, just generally . . . I do not regard as illegal political activity."^[22] White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino described the briefings to reporters: "It's not unlawful and it wasn't unusual for informational briefings to be given. There is no prohibition under the Hatch Act of allowing political appointees to talk to other political appointees about the political landscape in which they are trying to advance the president's agenda."^[23]

Dismissal of United States Attorneys controversy

Jennings was involved in the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy in early 2007 testifying on August 2, 2007, before the Senate Judiciary Committee. He invoked executive privilege and refused to answer most questions, claiming the president George W. Bush had ordered his non-compliance.^[24] Democrats on the committee contested the legitimacy of the privilege assertion, Patrick Leahy calling it, "...a bogus claim."^[24] E-mails published subsequently confirmed that Jennings was directly involved in the controversial firing of New Mexico US Attorney David Iglesias, Jennings writing in one e-mail to a White House staffer, "Iglesias has done nothing," and to another, "We are getting killed out there," adding that the White House "move forward with getting rid of the NM USATTY.".^[25]

White House and RNC email accounts

Main article: Bush White House e-mail controversy

In the months leading up to the controversy around the dismissal of United States attorneys, Jennings communicated with Justice Department officials "concerning the appointment of Tim Griffin, a former Karl Rove aide, as U.S. attorney in Little Rock, according to e-mails released [in March 2007]. For that exchange, Jennings, although working at the White House, used an e-mail account registered to the Republican National Committee (RNC), where Griffin had worked as a political opposition researcher."^[19]

Involvement in 2014 U.S. Senate election in Kentucky

Jennings ran a Super PAC known as Kentuckians for Strong Leadership that supported the re-election of Mitch McConnell during the 2014 U.S. Senate election in Kentucky. In July 2014, Jennings told radio station WFPL "I think the party is coming together just fine and I don't detect any problems for McConnell on GOP unity."^[26]

During the race, Jennings was profiled in The New Yorker, which dubbed him "the master of attack."^[27] After the race, the Kentucky political news show "Pure Politics" interviewed Jennings and said that he had "shaped the race in McConnell's favor."^[28]

Involvement in 2016 Kentucky state legislative races

In 2016, Jennings' Super PAC, Kentuckians for Strong Leadership (KSL), sought to help Republicans gain control of the Kentucky House of Representatives. KSL spent $2 million on 19 legislative races as the GOP went from a 53-47 minority to a 64-36 super majority. "Pure Politics" credited KSL with helping the GOP achieve its objective.^[29] The group created a stir in the closing days of the campaign by sending thousands of Hillary Clinton birthday cards to voters across the state, asking them to "ruin Hillary's birthday" by voting against Clinton and "every Clinton Democrat running."^[30]

Columnist for Louisville Courier-Journal and Gannett

Jennings became a contributing columnist to the Louisville Courier-Journal in 2013, writing a conservative column that appears every other Wednesday. Jennings' columns are frequently picked up by Gannett's flagship USA Today.^[31] In Jennings' columns for the Louisville newspaper, he tackles policy and political issues affecting Kentucky and the nation. In 2018 and 2021,^[32] Jennings won a Society of Professional Journalists award for his Courier-Journal writing.^[33] Jennings' writing also appears occasionally on RealClearPolitics.^[34]

CNN

In June 2017, Jennings joined CNN as a political contributor, along with former Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook, former John Kasich chief strategist John Weaver, former Virginia attorney general Ken Cuccinelli, former Obama national security aide Shawn Turner and Yale Law School associate dean and former FBI special agent Asha Rangappa.

In 2017, it was reported in various news outlets that Jennings had been offered, but turned down, a senior role in the Trump White House.^[35]

Harvard Kennedy School

Jennings was named a resident fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School for the Spring 2018 semester. He taught a series of seminars on tribalism in American politics,^[36] and attracted such guest lecturers to his class as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell^[37] and former White House Chief of Staff and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.^[38] In 2019, he was an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, teaching a course on modern American political campaigns.^[39]

Los Angeles Times

Jennings was named a Los Angeles Times contributing columnist in the fall of 2019. His initial column for the paper was called "Attitude and Gratitude: Why Republicans Stick with Trump",^[40] and was published shortly after Trump had been impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives. Jennings joined the Times' editorial board in November 2024.^[41]

Personal life

Jennings is married to Autumn Stiff Jennings of Whitesville, Kentucky; they have four children and live in Prospect, Kentucky.^[1]

:{References...

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2 trending on biden senile

https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2024/12/20/elon-musks-latest-political-move-has-everyone-on-the-left-reaching-for-their-smelling-salts-n2183468

The Five Words Tweeted by Elon Musk That Have the Global Elite Reaching for Their Smelling Salts

By Teri Christoph | 4:25 PM on December 20, 2024The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of RedState.com.

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Elon Musk has done it again.

Fresh off of tweeting the original Continuing Resolution (CR) into oblivion, Musk has now set his sights on Europe, and what he tweeted about Germany has the international community of leftists retreating to their fainting couches and calling Jeeves to bring the smelling salts.

I’ve Got a Question for All Those Democrats Who Are Gnashing Their Teeth Over Elon Musk

Elon Musk Issues Ominous Threat to Any Member Who Votes for the 'Cramnibus'; Vivek Also Weighs In

In response to a video posted to X by Naomi Seibt—a young German YouTuber who is known as the "anti-Greta Thunberg"—in which Seibt calls out Germany's presumptive chancellor Friedrich Merz for not wanting to work with the "Germany First" AfD party, Musk tweeted out five words:

Well, you would have thought he had called for Christmas and Kwanzaa to be canceled and all the gifts to be given to Jewish children based on the tantrums thrown by globalists everywhere. Here's a taste of some worldwide headlines:

"Outrage as Elon Musk claims ‘only AfD can save Germany’" (The Guardian)

"Backlash builds as Elon Musk endorses Germany’s far right" (Politico EU)

"Anger after Musk backs German far right" (France 24)

Musk Pauses Torment of GOP to Praise German Extremists (New York Magazine)

They are big, big mad.

The propagandists at NBC had this to say about the endorsement:

Elon Musk waded into Germany’s election Friday, expressing his support for a far-right anti-immigrant and anti-Islam party that's being monitored by the country’s domestic intelligence agency.

Sounds like Germany has its very own Deep State, doesn't it?

Let's take a closer look at what Musk is actually endorsing here. Is AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) the second coming of Adolph Hitler (not that the modern-day left would have a problem with that based on their unabashed support of Hamas)?

Here's how AfD describes itself on its official website, under the headline, "COURAGE FOR GERMANY. FREE CITIZENS, NOT SUBJECTS":

We are liberals and conservatives. We are free citizens of our country. We are convinced democrats.

And what does AfD stand for?

As free citizens, we stand up for direct democracy, the separation of powers and the rule of law, the social market economy, subsidiarity, federalism, the family and the living tradition of German culture. Because democracy and freedom are based on shared cultural values and historical memories. In the tradition of the two revolutions of 1848 and 1989, with our civil protest we articulate the will to complete national unity in freedom and to create a Europe of sovereign democratic states that are bound together in peace, self-determination and good neighborliness.

We are committed to fundamentally renewing our country in the spirit of freedom and democracy and to restoring these principles. We are open to the world, but we want to be and remain German. We want to permanently preserve human dignity, the family with children, our Western Christian culture, our language and tradition in a peaceful, democratic and sovereign nation state of the German people.

AfD is basically as close to a Germanic MAGA movement as you're going to get. They are Europeans, though, so not as MAGA as they could be, but still, the most promising party to save the country with the largest economy in Europe. You'll notice that the attacks against AfD are the same exact attacks that they've been leveling against Donald Trump for years, and look where that's gotten them.

The worldwide left is running scared at Donald Trump's looming second term, Elon Musk's growing political influence, and the rise of hardline conservative politicians like Giorgia Meloni and Marine LePen. European governments are collapsing at a regular rate, yet the left keeps pushing the same propaganda that saw them soundly defeated in the U.S. on November 5th.

Germany is expected to vote on February 23 to replace the leftist government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz that collapsed earlier this week.

Teri Christoph

Teri Christoph is the author of the Smart Girl Politics meme-letter. Follow her on Twitter or check out her carefully curated meme-posting over on Facebook.

Feel free to hit her up with memes, complaints and the like at teri.christoph@gmail.com.

===

...ALSO

pj media

WATCH: Scott Jennings Drops the Mother of All Truth Bombs on CNN

Matt Margolis | 10:02 AM on December 20, 2024

In an epic exchange on CNN, Senior Political Commentator Scott Jennings delivered a brutal reality check to Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and the Democrats, cutting through their rhetoric with precision. The moment came after Jayapal launched into a tirade blaming Elon Musk and Donald Trump for the looming government shutdown.

“We already had a bill,” she said. “We negotiated it. Mike Johnson agreed to it. And because, as you said, Elon Musk, a billionaire, tweeted about it — President Musk tweeted about it — these Republicans tried to go around their own caucus, all the work that's been done, and they are in charge of shutting down the government. Now, that is what's going to happen tomorrow night at midnight if we don't come to a deal.”

Jayapall also accused Trump of ceding control to Musk, saying, “I mean, this is a real crisis in my mind for Donald Trump: who’s the president right now… and who’s going to be the president come – come the New Year?” She even posed the bizarre question, “Are we now negotiating with Elon Musk? Is Mike Johnson not the speaker anymore?”

She continued, “I mean, this is abdicating all of the responsibilities of elected officials, whether it's the Republican speaker or the Republican president-to-be and giving it to an unelected guy. So I am shocked at the speed with which Donald Trump seems to have conceded his power to Elon Musk.”

Jennings, however, didn’t let this hyperbole slide.

When host Erin Burnett asked him for his response, Jennings zeroed in on Jayapal’s slip of the tongue. “She let the mask slip right at the end. She said, ‘Who’s the president right now?’” he noted.

Jennings went on to cite a recent Wall Street Journal exposé revealing that Joe Biden hasn’t actually been in charge over the past four years, and that unelected staffers and cabinet members have basically been running the government.

"Joe Biden, who we rarely hear from, The Wall Street Journal reported today has been diminished for the last four years, and we've had unelected people running around running the federal government, apparently."

Related: Bombshell Report Exposes Massive Cover-Up of Biden’s Cognitive Decline

Jennings didn’t stop there. He turned Jayapal’s criticism of Trump and Musk back on the Democrats, pointing out their glaring hypocrisy. “If that is what they’re worried about, if they’re worried about people who aren’t Donald Trump, you know, running the government or having influence, I wonder where they’ve been the last four years,” he quipped.

Jayapal’s attempt to frame Musk as some unelected villain harming “working-class Americans” fell hard and flat in the face of Jennings’ unflinching assessment. He highlighted the real issue that Democrats would rather avoid: their own president’s lack of leadership. “The current president, a Democrat, is AWOL and apparently not able to execute the duties of the office,” Jennings noted.

It's interesting how little Democrats are bothered by the fact that Joe Biden has been president-in-name-only the past four years.

Matt Margolis

Matt Margolis is the author of Airborne: How The Liberal Media Weaponized The Coronavirus Against Donald Trump, the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama, and The Scandalous Presidency of Barack Obama.

ref

Bombshell Report Exposes Massive Cover-Up of Biden’s Cognitive Decline

Matt Margolis | 12:24 PM on December 19, 2024

11/15/24 mma

November 14, 2024, edition of Fox News' Fox News @ Night

TRACE GALLAGHER (ANCHOR): When you talk about the editorial board, because -- when you tweeted, it seemed like you were going to get rid of the entire editorial board. They haven't all left. Is that the plan? To redo the entire editorial board or just fill in the people that have left?

PATRICK SOON-SHIONG (LOS ANGELES TIMES OWNER): Again, I think it's important for us to differentiate. The editorial board is responsible for these opinions on these voices. So right now we don't have an editorial board if we were a truly -- about ourselves -- that are balanced. And so I've gotten beaten up about fair and balanced. So I'm looking for people like Scott Jennings. Scott Jennings, who is on CNN and he's one out of six usually in the room, where we need to have all voices, the right, the left, and the moderate, the center. And I think it's important because the editors are responsible of stories that are told, stories are not told. Editors have this nuances of the word hatred versus could the president-elect make a real impact. And we need views from both sides and my goal is now to change the entire editorial board for that perspective.

OFF BS INCUBATORS?

Background

Scott’s expertise often lands him in the national press. He’s an on-air Political Contributor for CNN, writes regular columns for Gannett, the LA Times, and CNN.com, and is frequently quoted by reporters the world over because of his expert analysis. He’s also the host of a weekly podcast called “Flyover Country with Scott Jennings,” where he interviews leading political, media, and cultural figures. Scott is frequently booked by corporations and organizations for lectures and briefings on the state of American politics.

Scott’s career has taken him across the country as part of four presidential campaigns and numerous U.S. Senate, congressional, state, and local races. He served in key roles in both of President George W. Bush’s campaigns in 2000 and 2004, before becoming Special Assistant to the President in 2005, working under Karl Rove. At the White House, Scott served as a liaison to members of Congress, state and local officials, and key business, political and community leaders nationwide. His office advised the president on numerous issues and was part of the confirmation process for two Supreme Court Justices.

Scott has served in senior positions and advisory roles on several highly targeted races, helping U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, Congressman Brett Guthrie, and numerous other candidates and organizations for over 20 years.

In 2018, Scott began his association with Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, first as a Resident Fellow in the Institute of Politics and now as an Adjunct Lecturer. He teaches a class called “Modern American Politics,” a popular offering for aspiring public servants that explores the nuts-and-bolts of modern campaigns. Scott has also taught at Tufts University and served as a Fellow at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics (Fall 2020).

Scott was born on October 26, 1977, in Princeton, Kentucky. He grew up in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, and graduated from the University of Louisville. Scott is married to the former Autumn Stiff of Whitesville, Kentucky, and they have four sons: Everett, Winston, Thatcher, and Harlan.

Oh, the chickens. Scott and his family raise a growing flock, routinely fighting off hungry hawks and delivering eggs to their friends and family.

Education

Scott is a graduate of the University of Louisville, and the U of L McConnell Center for Political Leadership. He has completed fellowships at Harvard and the University of Chicago, and now Lectures in the Kennedy School of Government.

GGL 2 25

[### How Scott Jennings became CNN's go-to GOP pundit

The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com › Style › The Media](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/10/24/scott-jennings-cnn-profile/)

Oct 24, 2024 — Jennings changed his tune after Trump took office, and he reportedly was considered for a position in his administration. One year after his ...

[### Scott Jennings

Facebook · Scott Jennings

1.8K+ followers](https://www.facebook.com/scottjenningsky/)

Scott Jennings is a CNN Political Contributor and writes for several outlets. Follow him on Twitter @ScottJenningsKY

Missing: GOP ‎| Show results with: GOP

[### Scott Jennings | The Institute of Politics at Harvard University

Harvard Institute of Politics

https://iop.harvard.edu › fellows › scott-jennings](https://iop.harvard.edu/fellows/scott-jennings)

Scott Jennings is the Founding Partner of RunSwitch Public Relations and a political commentator on CNN.

[### Scott Jennings - Institute of Politics - The University of Chicago

The University of Chicago

https://politics.uchicago.edu › fellows › former-fellows](https://politics.uchicago.edu/fellows/former-fellows/scott-jennings)

Scott Jennings. CNN Political Contributor, Republican Strategist & Founding Partner of RunSwitch Public Relations.

[### Scott Jennings

X · ScottJenningsKY

478.7K+ followers](https://twitter.com/ScottJenningsKY?)

No information is available for this page.

Learn why

Images

[### CNN's Scott Jennings Witnessed a Deadly Shooting in DC

RedState

https://redstate.com › terichristoph › 2025/02/10 › scott...](https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2025/02/10/scott-jennings-witnesses-shooting-at-union-station-n2185437)

19 hours ago — ... RedState.com. AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis. Scott Jennings, CNN's resident Republican truth teller and creator of hilarious sound bites, got ...

[### GOP Rep Drops Big Truth Bombs About Biden and China ...

RedState

https://redstate.com › nick-arama › 2024/12/27 › gop-r...](https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2024/12/27/gop-rep-teams-with-scott-jennings-on-biden-money-from-china-n2183653)

Dec 27, 2024 — Republicans were certainly carrying the weight on Thursday, laying the problematic Biden administration bare with their reality checks ...

[### Scott Jennings Breaks Out a Chart to Help CNN Panel ...

RedState

https://redstate.com › rusty-weiss › 2024/12/10 › scott-j...](https://redstate.com/rusty-weiss/2024/12/10/scott-jennings-breaks-out-a-chart-to-help-cnn-panel-understand-difference-between-good-guys-and-bad-guys-n2183009)

Dec 10, 2024 — Jennings had to help the latest panel try and figure out why Daniel Penny — who heroically subdued Jordan Neely on a New York City subway train ...

[### Scott Jennings Rampages Across CNN, Destroys Van ...

RedState

https://redstate.com › bonchie › 2024/12/21 › scott-jen...](https://redstate.com/bonchie/2024/12/21/scott-jennings-rampages-across-cnn-destroys-van-jones-and-then-a-full-panel-n2183489)

Dec 21, 2024 — As the tale goes, far from the humble, people-led affair of the Biden administration, the federal government has now become an "oligarchy" ruled ...

Missing: GOP ‎| Show results with: GOP

[### Scott Jennings Brings Reality Crashing Down on CNN and ...

RedState

https://redstate.com › brandon_morse › 2024/11/06 › s...](https://redstate.com/brandon_morse/2024/11/06/scott-jennings-brings-reality-crashing-down-on-cnn-and-its-viewers-this-is-revenge-of-regular-america-n2181634)

Nov 6, 2024 — As the smoke clears over a long and grueling 2024 election, people are naturally reflecting and taking stock of the result.

Missing: GOP ‎| Show results with: GOP

[### WATCH: Scott Jennings Goes Nuclear After CNN Analyst ...

RedState

https://redstate.com › bonchie › 2024/12/02 › scott-jen...](https://redstate.com/bonchie/2024/12/02/scott-jennings-goes-nuclear-after-cnn-claims-biden-didnt-lie-about-pardons-and-the-receipts-back-him-up-n2182694)

Dec 2, 2024 — Appearing on CNN, he faced down another analyst who insisted that Joe Biden never lied about pardoning Hunter Biden—a level of gaslighting that ...

Missing: GOP ‎| Show results with: GOP

[### Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) / X

x.com

https://x.com › scottjenningsky](https://x.com/scottjenningsky?lang=en)

SCOTT JENNINGS: JUDGES ARE CREATING A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS “There's a difference between complying with the law and district court judges setting broad ...

Missing: REDSTATE ‎| Show results with: REDSTATE

[### Scott Jennings: Judges, not Trump, causing ‘constitutional crisis’

CNN

16 hours ago](https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/10/politics/video/scott-jennings-judges-not-trump-causing-constitutional-crisis)

[

9:25](https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/10/politics/video/scott-jennings-judges-not-trump-causing-constitutional-crisis)

Scott Jennings and Gretchen Carlson clash over who is putting the country on course for a constitutional crisis.

Missing: REDSTATE ‎| Show results with: REDSTATE

[### CNN 'Black Sheep' Scott Jennings Gets a Sweet New Gig ...

RedState

https://redstate.com › terichristoph › 2024/11/30 › cnn-...](https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2024/11/30/cnn-black-sheep-scott-jennings-gets-a-new-gig-n2182643)

Nov 30, 2024 — One of the biggest winners of the 2024 election season has got to be CNN commentator Scott Jennings, the rare sane voice on a network packed with rage-filled ...

Missing: GOP ‎| Show results with: GOP

[### WATCH: Scott Jennings Offers Some Sage Words for ...

RedState

https://redstate.com › terichristoph › 2024/11/21 › watc...](https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2024/11/21/watch-scott-jennings-has-some-words-of-wisdom-for-republicans-who-are-reeling-over-matt-gaetz-n2182299)

Nov 21, 2024 — Matt Gaetz (R-FL) withdrawing his name from consideration for Attorney General. RedState's fearless managing editor, Jennifer Van Laar, wrote ...

5 26

1. ## The Scott Jennings Show | AM 870 The ANSWER - Los Angeles, CA

7 days agoThe Scott Jennings Show Scott Jennings-CNN's outspoken conservative powerhouse and trusted GOP strategist-joins Salem Media Group to bring his signature clarity, combativeness, and common sense to the airwaves with The Scott Jennings Show.

barrettmedia.com

https://barrettmedia.com › 2025 › 12 › 17 › salem-radio-network-to-expand-the-scott-jennings-show-alex-marlow-in-replacement-of-the-charlie-kirk-show

Salem Radio Network Tabs Scott Jennings, Alex Marlow to Replace Charlie ...

Dec 17, 2025The Scott Jennings Show is seeing an expansion in the Salem Radio Network lineup, replacing The Charlie Kirk Show. Jennings will now host from 1-3 PM ET in the lineup, growing his show from one hour to two.

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com › ScottJenningsShow

Scott Jennings Show - Facebook

Scott Jennings Show. 20,996 likes · 44,063 talking about this. Join Scott Jennings Weekdays from 1 - 3 pm ET on the Salem News Channel.