Conservative CNN pundit Scott Jennings botched an attempt to defend President Donald Trump’s tariffs with a hypothetical that led to everyone laughing in his face.
On Wednesday, Jennings was part of the roundtable on CNN Newsnight, and he tried to back up Trump’s handling of the economy by posing a question to the other pundits, including former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York Times reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro and Democratic political strategist Bakari Sellers.
“I have a sincere question for you because you all very concerned about the tariffs as taxes,” Jennings said, referring to critics’ argument that tariffs function as a tax on American consumers because importers pass the cost along as higher prices. “If Donald Trump tomorrow said, ‘I’ll trade you elimination of all tariffs for elimination of all corporate income taxes,’ would you take the deal?”
The panel responded with faces of confusion. De Blasio squinted his eyes and turned his head sideways while Garcia-Navarro threw her hands up and stared blankly at Jennings. No one responded for several seconds until host Abby Phillip asked, “What is that, Scott?”
“Would you take all taxes down to zero?” Jennings asked. De Blasio, still squinting, shook his head and said, “No,” while Garcia-Navarro waved the question away.
“What is the point of that hypothetical, Scott?” Phillip asked. As Jennings took himself seriously, everyone else at the table began cracking up as he tried to explain, “The point is this, because you’re mad about certain taxes, but every Democrat constantly argues for tax increases on corporations against tariffs. It makes no sense.”
“Scott, you’re the conservative at this table. That’s why this is so comedic,” Phillip explained while Jennings, with an angry expression, turned to Sellers, who was laughing with the other pundits still, and yelled, “Do you not understand this? It’s a very simple argument!”
“You have to bend over backwards to explain the conservative rationale for tariffs, and I don’t see you doing it,” Phillip said. “You keep telling me this is what Trump believes.”
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