GOP strategist Scott Jennings seemingly admitted that Trump’s renaming of the Kennedy Center was “stupid” when asked how he‘d feel about Democrats doing the same thing.
“So you’re saying a Democrat would put Obama’s name on a statue that isn’t of him? That would make them look like the stupidest person that ever lived,” he stated during a panel on CNN’s NewsNight.
The self-incriminating comment came when Jennings attempted to defend Trump’s latest ego acquisition to host Abby Phillip.
Phillip asked what would happen if a future Democrat president renamed the Lincoln Memorial the “Obama-Lincoln Memorial” or “arbitrarily” slapped Bill Clinton’s name on a pre-existing memorial. “Are you guys gonna be cool with that?” she questioned.
After Jennings said that such a Democratic president would be the “stupidest person,” Phillip pointed out: “Well, I’m glad you said that, because the Kennedy Center is literally a congressionally-named memorial.”
The Kennedy Center was named in 1964 after the assassination of JFK the previous year, and was intended to be a “living memorial” to the late leader.
For Jennings, however, things with walls apparently don’t count. “It’s a building. It’s not a statue,” he argued.
“It’s not a statue, but it is a memorial to President John F. Kennedy in the same way that the Lincoln Memorial is a memorial to President Lincoln,” the CNN host countered.
“But it’s a statue. It has a likeness,” Jennings again insisted.
“So are you ready for a Democratic president to slap their name arbitrarily on any…” Phillip began, before Jennings interrupted to give the green light for all future renamings.
“Yep, I am,” he said. “I’m ready for Democrats to misname every statue in America. I think, to prove your point, I think that would be great for their party. Change all the names on the statues.”
Trump stuck the new lettering of ‘The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts’ up on December 19, after Karoline Leavitt claimed a day prior that the board had “voted unanimously” in approval of the change.
This was a lie, according to board member Rep. Joyce Beatty, who shared a video on X after the announcement with the caption: “For the record. This was not unanimous. I was muted on the call and not allowed to speak or voice my opposition to this move. Also, for the record, this was not on the agenda. This was not consensus. This is censorship.”
Unanimous or not, Trump hinted on Friday that he has even more changes in mind. On Truth Social, the president shared a photo of sleek lumps of rock and suggested the historic building was overdue for a makeover.
“Potential Marble armrests for the seating at The Trump Kennedy Center. Unlike anything ever done or seen before!” he wrote.
The post Scott Jennings Cornered on Trump’s Kennedy Center Rebrand appeared first on The Daily Beast.
