Scott Jennings Humiliated as CNN Panel Erupts in Laughter
The MAGA pundit tied himself up in knots trying to defend Trump’s tariffs.
CNN’s resident MAGA pundit found himself drowned out by laughter as he tried to justify Donald Trump’s import tariffs in a panel discussion.
Scott Jennings, 48, is one of Trump’s most loyal advocates on a TV network the 80-year-old president loves to hate, and is thought to be angling to replace Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary.
Jennings went to bat for Trump on Wednesday during a roundtable discussion on CNN Newsnight after former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio criticized the president’s tariffs agenda for causing nothing but “chaos.”
Trump's tariffs have not worked out in the way the president pledged they would.
Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERS
“I have a sincere question for you three. You all are very concerned about the tariffs as taxes,” he told de Blasio, academic Lauren A. Wright, and political strategist Ana Navarro, who were also on the panel.
ADVERTISEMENT
Jennings was referring to the criticism that trade levies on imports from other countries effectively act as a domestic tax because importers have to pass the costs on to American consumers.
“If Donald Trump told you tomorrow, ‘I’ll trade you elimination of tariffs for elimination of all corporate income taxes,’ would you take the deal?” Jennings then asked. A wave of confused looks quickly swept across the room.
Sign Up for The Swamp Newsletter
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
“If my grandmother had wheels she’d be a bicycle,” quipped Navarro before host Abby Phillip intervened. “What is that, Scott?” Please explain: What’s the point of that hypothetical, Scott?” she asked, as de Blasio, Navarro and fellow panelist Bakari Sellers burst into laughter.

Jennings is widely thought to be angling for a job at the White House.
Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Image
“Every Democrat constantly argues for tax increases on corporations while arguing against tariffs, it makes no sense!” he protested as the other commentators continued to giggle.
“You are the conservative at this table,” Phillip told him. “That’s why it’s so, in some ways, so comedic, because you have to bend over backwards to explain the conservative rationale for tariffs, but I don’t see you doing it.”
The pair continued to bicker about Trump’s random use of tariffs until Jennings rounded the discussion off by accusing the others of putting politics over economics. “Why are certain taxes good, and certain taxes bad?” he said. “Because Trump did one, and you wanna do the other! And that’s the way it is!”
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
- Account (completed)
- Payment (completed)
- Confirmation (completed)
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
- 1Account
- 2Payment
- 3Confirmation



ADVERTISEMENT
Sign in or create an account
Login dialog
Loading comments…
ADVERTISEMENT