Trump's favorite CNN pundit gets shut down in exchange over White House ballroom

One of President Donald Trump's most consistent defenders on CNN was recently confronted over his celebration of Trump's bulldozing of the East Wing of the White House.

During the Friday episode of CNN host Kaitlan Collins' show "The Source," Collins discussed the lawsuit filed by a nonprofit group seeking to halt construction of Trump's proposed new $300 million ballroom. The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States alleged that the Trump administration illegally shut the public out of the process typically afforded to them when historic buildings undergo significant renovations.

"President Trump’s efforts to do so should be immediately halted, and work on the Ballroom Project should be paused until the Defendants complete the required reviews—reviews that should have taken place before the Defendants demolished the East Wing, and before they began construction of the Ballroom — and secure the necessary approvals," the lawsuit read.

In the panel discussion featuring legal analyst Elie Honig, former Obama administration official Van Jones and pro-Trump pundit Scott Jennings, (who joined Trump onstage at a 2024 campaign rally) the conservative commentator quipped that the group suing Trump over the destruction of the East Wing should feel free to "come over to the White House and pick through therubble and try to rebuild it," and asserted that "before [Trump] leavesoffice, that [ballroom] is going tobe sitting there legally andprocedurally."

"I don't know howit's all going to play out. Theman intends to build a ballroom,and I don't know what everybodyhas against it," Jennings said. "The existingstructure was not big enough forwhat the president needs to do ... When he had hisinaugural in the extreme cold in January, they had to do it inthe [U.S. Capitol] rotunda! They could haveeasily done that in somethinglike this. This is a positivething that he is trying to dofor the White House. So how'sthe paperwork going to go? Idon't know, but I promise youthey'll be a ballroom sittingthere when he leaves office."

At that point, Van Jones interjected and told Jennings that regardless of how much he supports the ballroom, presidents aren't allowed to disregard rules they dislike.

"What we often hear from our Republican friends is, 'I like theoutcome, so the process doesn'tmatter.' That's what happens inan authoritarian country.That's what happens with adictatorship," Jones said. "It turns out theprocess does matter in ademocracy, rules matter."

"And what if you want tomake America great again? Howdid America get great in thefirst place? Rule of law. Freemarkets. Everybody welcome, ifyou follow the rules. If youhave a lawless country, meaningthe executive branch does whateverit wants to, you're on the pathto being a banana republic," he added. "So ... maybe thisbig golden ball thing withgolden toilets, I have no ideawhat he's doing. Maybe peoplewill like it, but ifit's that great, why not followthe follow the rules?"

Watch the segment below:

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