Former George W. Bush special assistant Scott Jennings was rendered uncharacteristically speechless Sunday on CNN.
Jennings, a frequent contributor to CNN's TV lineup, appeared on the network over the weekend to talk about the Republicans' upcoming budget fights. He specifically highlighted the tax and spending debate as one area in which the GOP could gain some ground in voter approval.
"I think it's a worthy debate to have. I know Democrats are going to argue to keep every dollar and raise every tax, but I do think the Republicans here have some room to run, which is controlling spending, cutting taxes on working class people, making the tax cuts permanent," Jennings said. "This is an area where I do think there's some possibility of improvement in public opinion for the Republicans. If they're able to get their reconciliation package done."
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But Dan Koh, a special assistant to then-President Joe Biden, challenged the notorious Trump defender.
"I think it's just really difficult for Republicans to have one side say they're being fiscally conservative, when Donald Trump added more to the deficit than any president in modern history, I think this is a very difficult," Koh said.
Jennings then interjected, asking, "What happened during his presidency?"
The two spoke over each other as Jennings reminded Koh about Covid spending, and Koh said Trump should have been more "fiscally responsible."
Koh then asked, "Was it a historic add to the deficit or not?"
After briefly being rendered speechless, Jennings dodged the question, saying, "It was a historic pandemic that we had to respond to."
