CNN host Abby Phillip chastised the network’s MAGA mouthpiece Scott Jennings for “derailing the conversation” after accusing fellow panelists of lying about the price of eggs.
During a discussion about the price, Jennings repeatedly insisted that eggs have gotten cheaper since the inauguration of Donald Trump. But while the price of eggs has dropped since it briefly reached an all-time high in March, it remains up year over year, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Price of eggs is down, 69 percent they’re down,” Jennings asserted to Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky during a discussion on NewsNight With Abby Phillip Tuesday.
“Actually, eggs year over year are up 27 percent,” Roginsky replied.
“Let‘s not fight about statistics here,” host Phillip said. “She’s right. Year over year, they are up significantly. Month over month, they‘ve gone down, but that‘s from their high, which occurred partly due to bird flu and other things.”
“So let‘s be very clear,” Roginsky said. “[Trump] promised three things: the price of eggs, the price of bacon, and the price of apples were going to go down. I can quote him. It was on August 15th of last year. He said, ‘They‘re going to go down almost immediately when I become president.’ All of them are up. They‘re up year over year. And that‘s a fact.”
At the press conference at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump spoke alongside a table of grocery items. After saying he wanted to keep a box of Cheerios for himself, Trump said: “Bacon is through the roof—they’re all through the roof! The milk—everything is bad, and we’re going to straighten it out. We’re going to bring prices way down and we’re going to get it done fast.”
On CNN Tuesday, Roginsky referred to her debates on air with Jennings last year. “You kept talking about how the price of eggs is really high,” she said. “Well, guess what? It’s much higher now than it was when you and I were debating.”
Jennings, however, was having none of it. “You are literally lying about the eggs,” he told Roginsky, causing the conversation to fly off the rails. “The eggs are down.”
Phillip tried to get the discussion back on track by explaining the difference between the monthly and yearly price of eggs, but Jennings instead continued to accuse his co-panelist of lying.
“You’ve totally derailed this conversation. She’s trying to have a serious panel and you‘re out here arguing about eggs,” Jennings said, to which a visibly frustrated Phillip shot back: “No, Scott, you are derailing the conversation.”
Despite repeated warnings, Jennings continued to bicker and accused Roginsky of “not telling the truth about the eggs,” until Phillip was forced to step in and put an end to the “silly conversation.”
“Pardon me, but you’re derailing the conversation. OK? I think people have the ability to understand the difference between the price of eggs today and the price of eggs a year ago today, versus what you would prefer to talk about, which is the price of eggs when Donald Trump was inaugurated.
“You‘re talking about two different time horizons. Let’s just leave it at that and move on.“
