Scott Jennings gives conservatives a voice on CNN. The media should listen. | Opinion
CNN's Scott Jennings is a voice of reason, common sense, clarity and courage − and he isn't alone in his views. He advocates for the voice of millions of Americans who deserve to be known and heard.
Traditional media outlets aren't the only way to consume news anymore, but there's one cable news commentator I will watch any time I see him.
Enter Scott Jennings, one of CNN's senior political commentators.
With bemused smirks and concise but revelatory doses of political truth, Jennings has single-handedly made televised commentary great again. Who knew that was possible?
Scott Jennings skewers progressives with quips on CNN
Here are a few recent gems that show why Jennings has emerged as a master in how to school a liberal in just a few seconds:
- "I've been with the president recently. I've watched him in these meetings. I've seen the way things are working. There is no chaos. But I can tell you this, unlike in the (previous) administration you worked for, there's no doubt who's running the country, and it's Donald Trump."
- "Oh no! They fired the bureaucrats. Oh no, oh no!"
- "Do you think it is a legitimate political debating point for the previous administration to have overseen historic inflation over four years − and then you come out and say, 'Four weeks! I guess Trump's a failure!'?"
- "This election ... is something of an indictment on the political information complex. ... The story that was portrayed was not true. ... We were just ignoring the fundamentals."
Jennings is a veteran at the intersection of politics and media. He worked in President George W. Bush's administration, runs a public relations firm in Kentucky and has contributed columns to Paste BN.
He has been an on-air contributor to CNN since 2017, but his star really rose during the 2024 presidential campaign, when he regularly offered insightful analysis of current events and verbally clocked liberal pundits. He's cooking, as my teenagers would say.
As a result, CNN reportedly gave Jennings a lucrative contract recently, a recognition of his ongoing success with audiences around the country. The mainstream news media could learn a lot from Jennings' success and how he speaks for the 77 million Americans like me who voted for Trump.
Jennings identifies the 80/20 issues that sink Democrats
When Trump won reelection handedly in 2024, progressive pundits went into overdrive, insulting Americans and throwing temper tantrums. (Honestly, it was beautiful.)
I understand though. They lost, and nobody likes to lose. But since the election, as days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, progressives haven't recovered from losing.
Instead of showing any self-awareness or desire to shift on unpopular issues, the left has doubled down on ideas that don't help their cause. They continue to smear and mock Republicans like me who voted for Trump, labeling us fascists and worse.
I've often observed the left's extreme stances on issues like illegal immigration, taxes and transgender athletes in women's sports and wondered, what are they thinking?
Jennings has boldly pointed out Democrats' disconnect with the electorate on such matters. He calls them 80/20 issues − things 80% of Americans agree while Democrats embrace the other 20%.
“If there ever was an 80/20 or 90/10 issue in America, it's this one," Jennings said on CNN in March about transgender athletes competing in women's sports. "President Trump had the young athlete at (his address at a joint session of Congress) the other night who had been really injured in a volleyball game over it. ... I still saw liberals on social media laughing at this person's misfortune. ... If Democrats don't get on the right side of at least one 80/20 issue in America, they're going to lose again in '28."
Mainstream news organizations could learn a lot from Jennings' success. He precisely articulates the worldview of so many Americans who voted for Trump and who hold conservative values. And he's not weird about it: He's funny, firm but cordial and sharp − just like so many conservatives I know.
But journalists would rather take snide shots at Jennings rather than learn something that might build an audience and salvage their jobs. In April, a headline at The Daily Beast slammed Jennings as a "supervillain," and the accompanying article dismissed him as "cable TV’s ubiquitous MAGA Man of the Moment."
The fact that mainstream news organizations continue to loathe half of the American electorate − and they aggressively show their disdain almost daily − is a major reason why Trump and Jennings are succeeding, and why Democrats like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have failed spectacularly. Why my fellow journalists refuse to understand that is beyond me.
Jennings is a voice of reason, common sense, clarity and courage − and he isn't alone in his views. He advocates for the voice of millions of Americans who deserve to be known and heard.
Maybe the talented but out-of-touch people who run major news organizations will learn something from their peers at CNN who have given Jennings a prime platform. Or is that a bridge too far for them?
Nicole Russell is a columnist at Paste BN and a mother of four who lives in Texas. Contact her at nrussell@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @russell_nm. Sign up for her weekly newsletter, The Right Track, here.