Scott Jennings was taken to task for his selective outrage over Donald Trump’s “defenseless” aide Natalie Harp when confronted on CNN with the president’s long record of insulting women.
The Daily Beast revealed last week that Jennings, 48, is the frontrunner to replace outgoing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. And on Wednesday night, he delivered a masterful display of avoiding any criticism of the octogenarian president.
Host Abby Phillip cornered the MAGA pundit during an edition of CNN’s NewsNight as the conservative commentator continued attacking Sen. Jon Ossoff over a joke about Trump’s ever-present 35-year-old aide.
The Georgia Democrat told an election rally on Sunday that Trump “doesn’t want to do the job” and instead just wants to “build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”
Jennings has spent days raging over the line. He called Ossoff a “garbage human” and branded the remark “vile” during a lengthy tirade on his radio show.
On Wednesday, Jennings again argued that Harp was “not a public figure” and accused Ossoff of “punching down on someone who’s effectively defenseless.”
The CNN panelists immediately challenged him. Rep. Jared Moskowitz pointed to Trump’s repeated attacks on CNN anchor and White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins. Political commentator Keith Boykin noted that Harp is a White House employee.
Phillip then played a montage of Trump insulting women. It included his infamous “only Rosie O’Donnell” response after Megyn Kelly listed his attacks on women, his description of Hillary Clinton as a “nasty woman,” and his repeated jabs at Collins.
The reel ended with Trump ordering Bloomberg White House correspondent Catherine Lucey, who was questioning him about the Jeffrey Epstein files, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.”
“‘Quiet, piggy,’” Phillip repeated as the camera returned to the panel. “If you’re gonna be outraged over ‘traveling on a plane with Natalie,’ are you going to be outraged over all those things?”
Phillip then asked whether Trump had demeaned women and whether Jennings considered that unacceptable. “I do not believe in demeaning women in any way,” Jennings replied before attempting to change the subject. But Phillip pressed on: “So did the president demean women, and was that unacceptable?”
Jennings refused to answer directly and returned to his claim that Harp could not defend herself. Boykin repeatedly interrupted: “Not answering the question.”
Phillip later delivered the central charge against Trump’s dependable CNN defender. “You have a lot to say about Jon Ossoff and very little to say about Donald Trump,” she said. “The president of the United States does that on a regular basis.”
The Daily Mail reported this week that Jennings held private discussions with Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, about the role. The White House denied that those meetings took place. The Mail also reported that Harp is seeking Leavitt’s job.
The Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
