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A spat over how the president-elect should handle his nomination for defense secretary bled into the break as CNN’s Abby Phillip was forced to intercede: “Stop talking.”
(Video: CNN)
Ahead of President-elect Donald Trump reaffirming his nomination of Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense, one talking head tried to ascribe a different point of view to the GOP leader. While senior political commentator Scott Jennings had pitched how the nominee could defend his reputation, Anthony Scaramucci’s belief that Trump was “frustrated” found the pair squabbling until Phillip had to silence them and the rest of the panel leading into commercials.
“Everyone, stick around. Hold on. We got to go. Stop talking,” the host had said while previewing the next segment.
During the “CNN NewsNight” panel that also featured John Brabender, Maria Cardona, and Mondaire Jones, Jennings had sold the idea of a hearing with all sides under oath to aid Hegseth in fighting “for his own reputation” amid claims of misconduct from the past.
“That’s very bad for the president,” said the short-lived former White House communications director in response as Phillip agreed. “What Scott’s saying might be good for Pete Hegseth, but it’s very bad for the president.”
When Jennings pressed for an explanation, Scaramucci continued, “[Trump’s] very frustrated by this. He has to be. I mean, I know the guy. The mother went after the guy and they had the mother in like a hostage crisis on Fox News backing out of what she said about her own son. And trust me, the thing that blew him up with Donald Trump is what the mother said about him. ‘Cause I know Trump, and I know exactly how he thinks about this stuff. And so he’s upset, he doesn’t want to be the guy to pull the string on him.”
After referencing how Penelope Hegseth had set the story straight following The New York Times’s publication of a six-year-old email that she’d sent “in anger” and promptly withdrew at the time, Scarmucci added, “But right now, [if] Pete Hegseth said, I’m done, Donald Trump would be relieved by that. He’s got another person waiting in the wings that’s qualified.”
“Speaking of waiting in the wings,” the host attempted to pivot. “President Trump’s gonna go to the Army-Navy game and he’s also gonna be there with [Florida Gov.] Ron DeSantis, who’s reportedly one of the other people who’s being considered here.”
“It’s fine to have a ‘Plan B,’” Jennings had interjected before Phillip had finished. “I just think, you know, the president wants this guy. He was a nontraditional pick because Donald Trump’s a nontraditional president. He’s not gonna pick the regular Washington establishment types.”
“Don’t hurt the president by doing that to him, though,” tried the onetime White House official earning the response, “The president made the choice. Hegseth didn’t show up today and declare that he was going to be Secretary of Defense. This was Trump’s choice.”
“I don’t think all of that stuff was declared to Donald Trump,” continued Scaramucci.
When Cardona asked if Trump had been aware of all of Hegseth’s background, Jennings contended, “No, but I’ll tell you what Donald Trump does know about. People piling on with garbage after garbage after garbage and never feeling like you get the chance to repair your own reputation. He does know a lot about that.”
Brabender added before the crosstalk was cut by commercial, “Yes, and he’s not going to blink. He’s not going to just blink because a bunch of Democrat senators are trying to make a public relations campaign out of it.”
That point was readily supported Friday when Trump issued a statement in favor of his choice for SECDEF that read, “Pete Hegseth is doing very well. His support is strong and deep, much more so than the Fake News would have you believe. He was a great student — Princeton/Harvard educated — with a Military state of mind. He will be a fantastic, high energy, Secretary of Defense…one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn’t researching current events and their impacts, you’ll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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