Abby Phillip Reaches Wits’ End With MAGA Pundit Scott Jennings: ‘Completely Disingenuous’

CNN NewsNight host Abby Phillip called out colleague Scott Jennings for some sleight of hand when defending President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Wednesday’s show.

On April 2, Trump declared “Liberation Day” while rolling out a series of preposterously high tariffs on dozens of countries in a move that the president said was “retaliatory,” suggesting that the U.S. was simply responding in kind. But upon closer examination, Trump used U.S. trade deficits with other countries to claim that those countries had tariffed U.S. goods.

Since that time, Trump has drastically lowered the original tariff figures.

“I’d like to build a DeLorean and go back to April,” Jennings said before reading some of the more dire predictions about the ramifications of the tariffs at the time.

“What was happening in April, Scott?” Phillip asked.

Chaos erupted at the table, with CNN International host Richard Quest taking exception.

“Just a second, Sir,” the Brit interjected.

“You called the recession,” Jennings protested, referencing Quest’s prediction and subsequent shoe removal in April to underscore the point. “You took your shoe off.”

Quest took off his shoe again and said, “Listen, Scott. It’s too early to give a final verdict.”

Phillip interjected, which led to the following exchange in which she accused Jennings of being “completely disingenuous.”

PHILLIP: Scott, what was happening in April of this year, 2025? What was happening then? What did the president announce on that week, the first week of April? What did he announce?

JENNINGS: The president was implementing his tariff agenda.

PHILLIP: And what were those tariff levels?

JENNINGS: Well, they were different for different countries.

[CROSSTALK]

PHILLIP: Scott, you can’t skip steps here. What were those tariff levels?

JENNINGS: They were different. He had a chart for different countries.

PHILLIP: Oh, not just different. They were two to three times higher than the current tariff levels. Did those tariffs go into place, Scott?

JENNINGS: It’s different for every country. It’s different for every country.

PHILLIP: Scott, it’s a simple question. Did those tariffs go into place? Yes or no.

JENNINGS: He has delayed some of the tariffs.

PHILLIP: Yes or no.

JENNINGS: He has delayed some of the tariffs and he’s made deals and he’s implemented others.

PHILLIP: Did any of the tariff levels that Trump announced on that week, did they ever go into place?

JENNINGS: Some tariffs have been implemented, some have been delayed, and some deals have been made.

PHILLIP: The answer is they did not, they did not.

JENNINGS: Some tariffs have been implemented. That’s why we have all this money coming in.

[CROSSTALK]

QUEST: You’re playing with numbers here.

JENNINGS: No!

QUEST: Back in April–

JENNINGS: You guys are so mad.

QUEST: Because–

JENNINGS: Why are you rooting for failure? Why does this table root for failure?

QUEST: No, quiet please, because you are taking a number of 40, 50, 60% back in April, and you’re comparing it to a number of 10, 15% now.

JENNINGS: Fine.

QUEST: So you just admit it!

JENNINGS: It was a strategy to negotiate and create leverage–

PHILLIP: Scott, I just have to say, completely disingenuous to suggest that–

JENNINGS: I’m sorry, you were the one calling for a recession in April, not me–

PHILLIP: Give me one second.

JENNINGS: You called for it.

PHILLIP: Give me on second, please let me finish. It is completely disingenuous to suggest that what economists said would happen if Trump imposed 50 and 60%, ‘Oh, let’s jump all the way up to 135% level tariffs’ on this economy would have been a recession, those levels never happened, which is why there has been no recession.

JENNINGS: You sound disappointed.

PHILLIP: It’s not that complicated.

Watch above via CNN.