Conservative Commentator Scott Jennings ‘Reviled’ Inside CNN Due to His Support for Trump: Report

CNN’s senior political commentator, Scott Jennings, is despised within the reliably liberal news organization for his robust, on-air defense of President Trump, and Jennings’ colleagues “hate” him, according to a new report. A far-left media reporter, Oliver Darcy, who used to work at CNN, exposed the internal furor that erupted at his former employer after Mr. Jennings made a post on X that provided a justification for America’s strikes on Iran. Mr. Jennings wrote that a senior Trump Administration official told him that “credible intelligence indicated Iran planned preemptive missile strikes against U.S. military targets in the region, and against civilian targets as well,” and that “failure to act would’ve resulted in mass U.S. casualties.”After that post, CNN’s website published an article that said Pentagon briefers undercut that story, telling congressional staff that intelligence did not show Iran was planning a preemptive strike. The article noted that Trump Administration officials told “reporters” about the concerns about a potential preemptive strike. But Mr. Darcy said in his “Powerlines” podcast that CNN staffers were fuming over Mr. Jennings’ post, which they felt was an inappropriate attempt by a pundit to act like a reporter.“There’s a wide contingent of people inside CNN who despise Scott Jennings. They do not like him. They view him as dishonest. They don’t understand why the network puts him on the air,” Mr. Darcy said.Several left-wing commentators have complained about Mr. Jennings and his conservative commentary, which they say is false or misleading. Last month, a Democratic strategist, Julie Roginsky, wrote a newsletter attacking Mr. Jennings, saying that he “blathers,” “talks over women with particular frequency,” and expressing frustration that he “mugs to the camera and rolls his eyes.”Mr. Jennings’ Iran post apparently irked staffers so much that it “bubbled up to CNN leadership,” Mr. Darcy said. However, he added it was unclear whether network executives took any action in response to the complaints. He added that the CEO of CNN, Mark Thompson, has “really had Scott Jennings’s back” and Mr. Thompson “did not want him there, he would not be there.”But Mr. Darcy said that “people hate” Mr. Jennings so much that producers who are trying to book guests warn “some of the guests ahead of time: FYI, you’re going to be on a panel with Scott Jennings.”“And it kind of gives them an opportunity to bow out, to excuse themselves from the table if they don’t want to appear on air with him. That’s how reviled he is inside CNN,” Mr. Darcy said. Mr. Darcy and his co-host, Jon Passantino, also a former CNN journalist turned liberal commentator, included some right-wing commentators in the pool of people who “hate” Mr. Jennings, noting that commentator Megyn Kelly criticized him for his Iran commentary.They played a clip of Ms. Kelly criticizing Mr. Jennings.Mr. Darcy called the clip “really bad … not good for Scott Jennings,” as he “highlights that he is a propagandist.”“Even some people in MAGA media, people like Megyn Kelly, who generally run cover for this administration, are effectively calling him … a propagandist,” Mr. Darcy said. However, the duo did not immediately note that Ms. Kelly has not “run cover” for the administration regarding the strikes against Iran but instead has been a vocal critic of the operation. It was not until several minutes later that “Powerlines” played a clip of Ms. Kelly — as part of a larger montage of right-wing commentators criticizing the strikes — claiming that American soldiers who died in retaliatory strikes from Iran did not die for the United States but rather “for Iran or for Israel.”Mr. Darcy insisted, “It’s impossible to be honest when you’re defending someone as dishonest as Donald Trump. And I think that’s what it really comes down to, and that’s why people are upset with Scott Jennings. Because there’s never, ever going to be a moment, it seems like, when Scott Jennings breaks with the president.”Mr. Passantino asked Mr. Darcy if he could think of a moment “recently” when Mr. Jennings offered “meaningful” or even “gentle” pushback. Mr. Darcy shook his head, indicating that Mr. Jennings had never broken from the president’s views. However, on the fifth anniversary of the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, Mr. Jennings said that he disagreed with President Trump’s view of that day, which he said was a “bad day” that should “never happen again” and should not be treated “like a national holiday.”CNN did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication. Mr. Jennings also did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment.

Conservative Commentator Scott Jennings ‘Reviled’ Inside CNN Due to His Support for Trump: Report

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