Sparks flew on CNN’s “NewNight” on Monday as a panel discussion about Vice President JD Vance and growing fractures within the MAGA movement devolved into a heated on-air clash between conservative strategist Tim Parrish and progressive commentator Adam Mockler.
The confrontation erupted after host Abby Phillip pressed Parrish on recent infighting that developed at the Turning Point USA convention in Phoenix, where disputes over antisemitism and extremism exposed deep divisions inside the conservative movement. Phillip cited remarks from conservative figures that compared diversity initiatives to extremist ideology and asked whether that kind of rhetoric reflected the leadership Vance is offering as a standard-bearer for the MAGA movement.
“Don’t give me this idea that the vice president doesn’t believe we should have a country where everybody’s welcome,” Parrish, a Republican strategist, said in a forceful defense of Vance. But the segment took a sharp – and personal turn – when Parrish accused Democrats of hypocrisy, citing past inflammatory comments from a Virginia political figure that he said went largely unchallenged by the left.
“You talked about how we weren’t applying this properly across the board, when it was dead silent – you dead silent,” Parrish told Mockler, while pointing at him.
“Me?! What are you talking about, dude? You don’t’ know me!” Mockler, a Gen Z podcast host, quickly shot back, as the two spoke over one another during the tense back-and-forth.
Parrish continued: “So don’t talk to me now, don’t try to lecture us and lecture the American people about equality and what’s fair and who should be allowed in the party after your party sat silent after those words. It’s actually sickening, and it’s angering.”
Mockler argued that Vance has avoided directly confronting extremist elements within the movement.
“JD Vance has played fast and loose with this movement the entire time because he doesn’t want to alienate the movement,” Mockler said, before ripping into CNN conservative Scott Jennings.
Phillip ultimately stepped in to regain control.
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