Scott Jennings, a conservative commentator for CNN, is going through harsh criticism over his response to remarks from former President Donald Trump, who repeated a racist lie about Haitian immigrants throughout Tuesday’s presidential debate.
Throughout an look on a phase of “NewsNight with Abby Phillip,” Republican commentator Ana Navarro requested Jennings whether or not he thought Trump sharing debunked claims that Haitian immigrants have been consuming the pets of people that reside in Springfield, Ohio was rooted in racism.
“He was amplifying a conspiracy theory that, I think you would agree, puts a target on the backs of Haitian immigrants, and that it is based on racism. Would you agree on that?” Navarro requested.
Jennings met her query with momentary silence.
“Do you think that if there were 20,000 Scandinavians that had been sent to Springfield, people would be saying that they’re eating cats and dogs and geese?” Navarro pressed additional.
“I’m not going to answer for [Trump], for his memes, or for anything else,” Jennings responded, earlier than he and Navarro engaged in a back-and-forth.
Host Phillip identified to Jennings that that was a “long pause” earlier than responding to Navarro’s query, to which the conservative pundit stated: “Because I don’t know the answer.”
“I’m not going to sit here and answer for somebody,” he continued. “I don’t talk to Donald Trump about what the motivations are.”
“And I don’t answer to you either,” he added, Navarro.
Jennings then insisted that conversations surrounding immigration this election ought to deal with how immigration impacts communities as an entire.
Navarro argued that the subject of false claims surrounding Haitians consuming pets was solely being addressed as a result of these lies have been boosted by Trump and his working mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” Trump stated through the ABC Information debate. “And this is what’s happening in our country. And it’s a shame.”
Vance unfold the rumor about Haitian immigrants on X, previously Twitter, the day previous to the controversy. It has since been debunked by metropolis officers and native police.
The Haitian inhabitants in Springfield has grown through the years. Haitian immigrants are current in the neighborhood legally, in keeping with the town.
Elsewhere within the “NewsNight” phase, Navarro warned that Trump’s lie about Haitians and related rhetoric can put lives in danger.
“It may be funny to some people. … It’s also incredibly racist and incredibly dangerous,” she stated, earlier than referencing a 2019 mass taking pictures in El Paso, Texas. “I remember when a whack job, triggered by things that were said against Latinos, took a gun and went and hunted down Latinos in an El Paso Walmart.”
Navarro shared a clip from the phase in an Instagram publish on Thursday, captioning it: “When silence speaks louder than words…”
Take a look at extra responses criticizing Jennings’ Wednesday look on “NewsNight”:
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