An awkward moment between political panelists ensued on CNN after a guest touched one of the cohosts as they discussed inflation.
The exchange between Republican strategist Scott Jennings and Bakari Sellers, a former Democratic member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, took place on NewsNight with Abby Phillip on Thursday.
‘What Scott was not accurate about- which kind of happens around the table sometimes,’ Sellers said, touching Jennings’ shoulder. ‘…although I know you want to be…’
Jennings abruptly told Sellers: ‘Don’t touch me.’
‘I can’t touch you now?’ Sellers laughed moving his hand to Jennings’ back.
Host, Abby Phillip, stepped in and said: ‘All right, everybody, keep your hands to yourselves at the table.’
Jennings crossed his arms with a look of disapproval as the discussion continued.
The tense moment isn’t the first time the two have clashed on air, after comments were made in October about pro-Palestine protestors.
The exchange between Republican strategist Scott Jennings and Bakari Sellers, a former Democratic member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, took place on NewsNight with Abby Phillip on Thursday
Jennings quickly and abruptly told Sellers: ‘Don’t touch me.’ ‘I can’t touch you now?’ Sellers laughed moving his hand to Jennings’ back
Host, Abby Phillip, stepped in and said: ‘All right, everybody, keep your hands to yourselves at the table’
Jennings, a former George W. Bush administration official, compared the protestors to Adolf Hitler.
Sellers, in shock, called Jennings’ remarks ‘far beyond pale.’
‘The line has been crossed. You are over there, and the line is behind you to compare college students who are protesting for Palestinian rights to Adolf Hitler,’ Sellers said.
Jennings, however, has found himself in hot water many times on air.
In November, the conservative commentator sparked debate after he called X the ‘most ideologically balanced’ social media platform.
The panel on NewsNight, with guest host Audie Cornish, discussed if billionaire and cozy friend of Donald Trump Elon Musk was considering buying MSNBC.
The conversation turned to discuss if such a move would turn the media outlet into propaganda.
‘I mean, is the concern that certain media outlets would become propaganda arms of political ideologies? Don’t we already have that in this country at a large scale? Also, I hear what you’re saying about X, I saw a survey this week, it’s not the most ideologically balanced user platform,’ Jennings said.
Republican commentator Scott Jennings sparked a heated debate during a CNN panel after he called X the ‘most ideologically balanced’ social media platform
‘I’m shocked,’ Jennings said, holding up a copy of the Wall Street Journal featuring a picture of the two men together
CNN contributor Cari Champion interrupted and said: ‘Scott, Scott, stop, it’s too early. I just sat down. I’ve only been here for two minutes, you cannot say that. Who’s the source?’
He replied, ‘We’ve reported on this network.’ Champion said, ‘It’s not accurate and you know it.’
Earlier that same month, Jennings had poked fun at his colleagues for describing President-elect Donald trump as ‘Hitler’ and ‘fascist’ during the presidential campaign.
After playing clips of Trump and Biden criticizing each other on the campaign trail, the CNN panel discussed the successful meeting between Biden and Trump at the White House.
Meghan Hays, a former Biden White advisor, said that Biden did not traditionally hold grudges and was ultimately a dignified statesman in the end.
‘I’m shocked,’ Jennings said, holding up a copy of the Wall Street Journal featuring a picture of the two men together. ‘I mean, did you ever think you’d see literal Hitler in the Oval Office – with the President United States?’
‘C’mon, Scott,’ Hays protested.
‘It was the underpinning of the Democratic campaign, that Donald Trump is a fascist,’ Jennings continued.
Earlier that same month, Jennings had poked fun at his colleagues for describing President-elect Donald trump as ‘Hitler’ and ‘fascist’ during the presidential campaign
‘And what I see in this is I’m glad it’s happening … but what it tells me and what it ought to tell Democrats is they didn’t mean any of it. It was all campaign rhetoric.’
CNN’s ratings, however, have continued to plummet as networks like Food Network and History Channel surpass it.
CNN’s audience was smaller than TNT, Food Network, Discovery, Hallmark Mysteries, TLC, TBS, History, HGTV, USA, MSNBC, the Hallmark Channel and ESPN.
Just one week after the presidential election, CNN averaged 61,000 viewers aged 25 to 54. This is the smallest audience of viewers in that demographic since June 27, 2000, when Bill Clinton was in the White House.
It also pulled in bad numbers for its daytime programming – shows that run between 9 am and 5 pm – with an average 60,000 viewers.
Fighting between CNN staff and former staff has also sparked over the plummeting viewership, as the blame game took to social media earlier this month.
The on-air CNN spat also comes as its parent company announced a dramatic new restructuring to bring the channel back to life.
Under their bold new model Warner Bros. Discovery will split into ‘two distinct operating divisions,’ according to a press release.
Just one week after the presidential election, CNN averaged 61,000 viewers aged 25 to 54. This is the smallest audience of viewers in that demographic since June 27, 2000, when Bill Clinton was in the White House
One of the divisions – the Global Linear Networks – will be focused on its television business. The second, called Streaming & Studios, will be driven toward streaming platforms and setting up ‘strategic opportunities’ for the future.
Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO, David Zaslav said: ‘Since the combination that created Warner Bros. Discovery, we have transformed our business and improved our financial position while providing world class entertainment to global audiences.
‘We continue to prioritize ensuring our Global Linear Networks business is well positioned to continue to drive free cash flow, while our Streaming & Studios business focuses on driving growth by telling the world’s most compelling stories.’
This new plan will be implemented by mid-2025, the company revealed. Right now, the company is split into sections: networks, studios and direct-to-consumer streaming.