As Townhall has been covering this election cycle, Scott Jennings has been a breath of fresh air and at times the only voice of reason during CNN panels that otherwise would go completely off the rails. He's been ramping up the warnings as to how the tactics of the Harris-Walz campaign just weren't working, and sure enough that proved to be true. Early on Wednesday morning, Jennings tried to offer his fellow panelists some insight, if only they'd take such a free gift.
When Anderson Cooper asked Jennings his thoughts, Jennings reminded that Trump won "a huge victory" and "a mandate," but also addressed it in the context of how Trump "has an opportunity here to try to unite the country" after such a win. Trump indeed won the popular vote, the first time a Republican has done so since 2004, which CNN's Harry Enten had also been warning viewers about as the election was approaching. "This is a big deal, this isn't backing into the office, this is a mandate to do what you said you were going to do," Jennings continued, as he mentioned Trump's priorities centered on the economy, crime, and immigration.
"I'm interpreting the results tonight as the revenge of just the regular 'ol working class, the anonymous American who has been crushed, insulted, condescended to, they're not 'garbage,' they're not Nazis, they're just regular people who get up and go to work every day and are trying to make a better life for their kids and they feel like they have been told to just shut up, when they have complained about the things that are hurting them in their own lives," Jennings continued, as he reminded his panelists of the ways in which President Joe Biden and the Harris-Walz ticket have insulted their political opponents. One could hear a pin drop as such points were made.
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Jennings offered some further hard truths about what this means for the media as well. "I also feel like this election, as we sit here and pour over this tonight, is something of an indictment of the political information complex." He went on to remind that for the past few weeks, "the story that was portrayed was not true. I mean, we were told Puerto Rico was going to change the election! Liz Cheney, Nikki Haley voters, women lying to their husbands," he continued, listing some particularly heinous and heavily criticized tricks from Harris-Walz supporters. "Before that it was Tim Walz and the camo hats. Night after night after night we were told all these things and gimmicks were gonna somehow push Harris over the line and we were just ignoring the fundamentals! Inflation, people like they were barely able to tread water at best, that was the fundamentals of the election."
From there, Jennings also offered how this ties into his advice for political parties. "And so, I think that both parties should always look at the results of an election and figure out what went right and what went wrong, but I think for all of us who cover elections, and talk about elections and do this on a day to day basis, we have to figure out how to understand, talk to, and listen to the half of the country that rose up tonight and said, 'we've had enough.'" Jennings' voice noticeably took on a more urgent tone when making such a point.
"It's not easy to lose a race like this," Jennings went on to acknowledge, as he discussed how he's lost races as well, including in 2012. "I understand and I do think the new president has a responsibility to make the whole country feel like they can be part of a more optimistic future," he said, bringing this back to Trump's win.
Jennings also further addressed how God-awful the arguments were from the Democrats for this election. "I do think the way this campaign was run, was basically on [how] the Democrats thought there were enough people who hated Trump or were willing to fear him to win the race and it turns out there's more to being president than simply not being Donald Trump in the eyes of the American people!"
On that note, he's also "a little worried about how Democrats are going to react," as "they've been told Trump is a modern-day Hitler, or at least he's a fascist, and now Kamala Harris I suspect is going to have to wake up and concede to that person, and then she's going to have to go to the Senate and certify the election," something Van Jones and David Axelrod insisting she'll do.
As of late Wednesday morning, Harris has still not conceded, and reportedly will not give a speech until 6 pm.
"I'm just--I'm a little concerned about an election in which half the country was conditioned to believe that the person who just won the national popular vote, is going to be a dictator, eliminate the Constitution, create a bloodbath, and so on and so forth," Jennings expressed, as he mentioned more of the lies that Democrats have spewed about Trump. "We have to reckon with that in the aftermath of that argument," Jennings made clear, despite Jones trying to jump in.
3:38am - reflecting on Trump’s impending victory and coming Harris concession. Trump has a mandate. The late stage mirage of Harris momentum was crushed by regular working class Americans of all races. pic.twitter.com/A1S4WuxOMz
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) November 6, 2024
Jennings' reminders about the media are perhaps even more noteworthy, given how CNN's own Jake Tapper astoundingly claimed he didn't know of other networks calling the presidential race for Trump, despite how that had been the case over an hour before. Jones also teared up on air another moment that made Trump's win this year reminiscent of his win in 2016.
Jake Tapper: I don't think that — as far as I know — any major news organization has declared him to be the victor.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 6, 2024
(Yes they have) pic.twitter.com/N0tUgNJkME
CNN's Van Jones is on the verge of tears. pic.twitter.com/CzQTQfux2D
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 6, 2024
Such commentary from Wednesday morning, as well as earlier in the week, on the eve of the election, has users flocking to respond to Jennings' clips that he should be considered as the next press secretary for the Trump administration.
If this dude isn’t press secretary, it’s a mistake.
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) November 6, 2024
Enough of the “it must be a woman” trend. Scott does not miss. He is the best of the best, with a track record of tangling with the worst of the worst. pic.twitter.com/4mlTCUDOd5
I think the Trump team would be smart to tap @ScottJenningsKY as @PressSec https://t.co/Dcqr9wUXYD
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) November 6, 2024
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