Conservative CNN Guest Swipes at Scott Jennings Over ‘Weird Talking Point’ About Phone Call With Mitch McConnell

Conservative CNN panelist Brianna Lyman threw some shade at network commentator Scott Jennings on Tuesday over a phone call he said he had with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

McConnell, 84, has been in the hospital since June 14, when he was reportedly found unconscious from cardiac arrest. Aides for the senator have refused to say why he was taken to the hospital or why he remains there. On Tuesday, Jennings, a longtime friend of McConnell’s, posted on X and later said on CNN that he spoke with McConnell that morning for almost 20 minutes. Despite allegedly speaking with the senator, Jennings claimed he only knew what had been publicly reported about McConnell’s health. Instead, Jennings said they spoke about Iran, Ukraine, and the Graham Platner scandal.

About 40 minutes after Jennings posted about the call with McConnell, Punchbowl News reported that the senator also spoke with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) about “a variety of topics, including national security.” Punchbowl also said McConnell spoke with Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) for “roughly 20 minutes” about several matters, including the Graham Platner scandal.

The 20-minute McConnell phone call became something of a gag on social media, with some users posting about phantom 20-minute phone calls with the senator.

During Tuesday’s edition of CNN NewsNight, host Abby Phillip asked simply, “Why can’t they just say, ‘He had this condition. He’s on the mend. He’s improving.’ Whatever it is, if it is in fact that.”

Lyman, who did not mention Jennings, Thune, or Barrasso by name, mocked what she called a “weird talking point” they had echoed.

“I think it’s wholly unacceptable,” she said. “I think that the tweets we’ve seen today about these 20-minute phone calls, that everyone has a 20-minute slot, I guess if I was calling someone who was out of commission for a few weeks, I would not ask them about the war, SCOTUS. I probably say, ‘How are you doing?’ But it seemed like a weird talking point that kind of came out for a lot of people on social media.”

Watch above via CNN.

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