‘Are You Serious?’ CNN’s Scott Jennings Stuns Anchor With Attack on Ex-Trump Vaccine Chief
CNN anchor Abby Phillip was stunned by the attack that GOP analyst Scott Jennings leveled at the “credibility” of now-former Trump Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Dr. Demetre Daskalakis.
Dr. Daskalakis is among a raft of senior officials who resigned in the wake of President Donald Trump’s attempted firing of CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez, along with CDC leaders like Dr. Deb Houry and Dr. Daniel Jernigan. Daskalis posted a scathing resignation letter that took aim at HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
On Thursday’s edition of CNN NewsNight, Phillip hosted a panel comprised of Jennings, S.E. Cupp, Pete Seat, Jennifer Welch, Dr. Chris Pernell, and Donte Mills.
When Phillip cited the doctor’s criticism of RFK Jr., Jennings drew shock by completely dismissing him over his use of inclusive language in his resignation letter:
PHILLIP: R.F.K. Jr. came in knowing what he wanted the science to say.
UNKNOWN: Exactly.
PHILLIP: And it sounds like from that official, what is happening is that he is making pronouncements and then finding things to back it up. I mean, this is stuff that affects real people’s lives. Vaccines, you know —
(CROSSTALK)
PERNELL: We’re in national immunization this month —
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIP: Yeah, immunizations.
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: The criticisms from this person, I just — I just have to say he did use the term pregnant people in his resume.
PERNELL: Oh, come on, come on. That’s a ruse.
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: I’m sorry, if that is like the way you’re — if that is like the way you’re presenting information —
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIP: Hold on.
(CROSSTALK)
PERNELL: That’s a ruse.
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: I have questions about your credibility.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIP: Is that — Scott — it’s like, it’s so amazing —
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: It’s not a ruse. He really wrote it down.
(CROSSTALK)
PERNELL: It’s a ruse because people have —
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIP: We are talking — we are talking about —
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: This guy’s not credible to me. That’s all I’m telling you.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIP: Scott, are you serious?
PERNELL: Come on.
JENNINGS: That he is not credible —
PHILLIP: No, no. Are you serious that this is — that of all the things that we’re talking about here — immunizations, vaccines, autism —
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIP: — research about — on communicable diseases, on cancer, and you are the most concerned about someone’s use of the word people.
JENNINGS: Yeah, because —
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIP: That’s the most important thing to you?
JENNINGS: — because you were just complaining about the politicization of science —
(CROSSTALK)
PERNELL: That’s not politicization. That’s not —
(CROSSTALK) JENNINGS: — and I can’t think of — I can’t think of politicization of science more than that.
(CROSSTALK)
PERNELL: That’s not politicization. Come on, Scott.
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: Or what some of these people said to the American people during COVID.
(CROSSTALK)
PERNELL: Come on.
JENNINGS: The credibility of some of these folks who are complaining — look.
PHILLIP: Okay so —
(CROSSTALK)
PERNELL: Well, well, I’m complaining and I’m public health and preventive medicine physician. We, in the NAACP are complaining, right? And we are an iconic civil rights and human rights organization. There is reason to complain, Scott. You have a person who during his confirmation hearings said that black people had a different immune system, that we should follow a different immunization schedule.
You have a person who has spent his life undermining science — credible science. The people who walked out of the CDC, the people who resigned, these are not flippant folks. These are not people who did this on the slight of a turn.
These are people who dedicated their livelihoods, who dedicated their hearts and their expertise to safeguarding the health of all Americans. And now, we are compromised, not just from a health and well-being standpoint, but from a national security standpoint. What’s going to happen when the next outbreak or pandemic arrives in the United States.
Watch above via CNN NewsNight.
