A war of words between a well-known GOP strategist and a Washington Post columnist broke out Monday evening in an animated back-and-forth interview segment where both political analysts traded barbs before the show host jumped in to tell one of them to “relax.”
The tense on-air moment unfolded during CNN’s “The Situation Room” during a debate over Trump’s tariff pauses on both Canada and Mexico, a situation Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell described right out of the gate as laughable.
“This is hilarious to me because Trump got rolled by both of these countries and no one, least of all Trump, seems to have realized it,” Rampell said. “Both the leaders of Mexico and Canada have agreed to do what they have already been doing. It's just that Trump didn't seem to know about it.”
But Scott Jennings, a former senior adviser to Mitch McConnell, didn’t buy Rampell’s characterization of Trump’s unfolding tariff war. The CNN conservative commentator instead declared the day’s events a “win for Donald Trump.”
Rampell was unconvinced.
"Again, he didn't actually get anything," Rampell insisted. "But if he were to put these tariffs in place, they would be very painful for American consumers.”
Before Rampell could conclude her sentence, Jennings blurted out “total lie.”
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“Um, okay, Scott,” Rampell replied. “I mean, this is public information go look up…”
“He got what he wanted,” Jennings added. “He got an agreement from our neighbors to do more on the border. That’s what he wanted.”
Rampell again repeated that the two neighboring countries of the United States are doing “exactly what they have already been doing.”
But Jennings didn't back down.
“I understand you're the minister of propaganda tonight, but you don't have to be,” Jennings told Rampell. “You could just say, 'Hey, all's well that ends well here,' come on.”
Not to be outdone, Rampell told Jennings that if he wasn’t aware of the steps the countries had already committed to, “either you haven't done your homework, or you think the American people are idiots because again, they're doing exactly what they already were doing.”
“Or option three,” Jennings responded. “Donald Trump is enforcing what needs to be done at the border, which is more help from our friends. They are our allies, and they are important people.”
“Dude, just accept the fact that he got rolled, he got rolled,” an animated Rampell said laughing as the segment concluded. When Jennings attempted to get one more dig against Democrats in, show host Phil Mattingly told him to "relax."
Watch the clip below or at this link.
