Scott Jennings has been accused of sounding like Joe Biden’s aides in a discussion about President Donald Trump’s health.
CNN’s token MAGA pundit tried to explain away Trump’s recent mental lapses by saying that he has “detected nothing” while spending time with the president.
“I’ve seen nothing but a man conducting six meetings at the same time,” Jennings said.
“You sound like Joe Biden’s aides who said ‘I’ve been around him’,” CNN host Abby Phillip hit back, before Jennings interrupted.
Jennings’ excuse for Trump’s mental acuity has whiffs of the statements made by Democratic aides that they had spent time with the president and believed him to be mentally capable of the top job last year after Biden was accused of mentally “slipping” behind closed doors in an article by the Wall Street Journal.
Trump has made a series of gaffes in recent days, seeming to forget that it was he who had appointed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during his first term in 2017 and wrongly claiming that his uncle taught the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Jennings was asked about the president’s health following the mistakes and Trump’s chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) diagnosis which was announced by the White House on Thursday.
“This president has a doctor who is issuing very transparent letters about this President’s health,” Jennings said, evading the question. “The former president has a doctor who’s taking the Fifth Amendment before Congress right now because he doesn’t want to answer questions about it.”
The news show descended into a shouting match as Jennings was caught giving fellow CNN pundit Touré a pointed side eye as they talked about President Trump’s health.
Jennings looked gobsmacked as Democrat commentator Touré asked why the media didn’t hear from Trump’s doctors after he was shot in the ear at an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July last year.
Touré was discussing Trump’s CVI diagnosis after undergoing tests following swelling in his legs. The TV host and author made the link that the president’s doctors were less forthcoming with details of Trump’s health after the assassination attempt.
Jennings was incensed over the suggestion but asked whether the media did hear from Trump’s doctors in the aftermath of the assassination attempt, he said: “I mean, all I know is I went to the Republican National Convention and he had a bandage on his ear.”
“That would be a no,” Touré jumped in to respond. Clearly frustrated, Jennings’ voice went up an octave as he said that Trump “had blood on his face,” as he described the infamous photos of two streaks of blood on the then-Presidential candidate’s face from the Butler rally.
Moments earlier, the panel had descended into a shouting match over the issue and Jennings appealed to CNN host Abby Phillip to provide some balance after Touré suggested that Trump was “supposedly shot in the ear.”
“Woah, woah, woah,” Jennings said, waving his finger towards Touré. “You said supposedly? Abby... Abby... Abby.”
The White House announced on Thursday that Trump had been diagnosed with CVI and said it was “a benign and common condition.” In her daily briefing Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump underwent a “comprehensive examination” after noticing “mild swelling in his lower legs.”
