Salem Radio Network host Scott Jennings sat silently Friday while former MSNBC host Tiffany Cross unleashed a racially-charged rant against people hired by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and supporters of President Donald Trump.
Violent opposition to immigration enforcement in the Minneapolis area escalated after an ICE agent shot an illegal immigrant from Venezuela after being ambushed during a “targeted” enforcement operation Wednesday. The incident occurred a week after another ICE agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, 37. During a discussion about an order by a federal judge appointed by President Joe Biden limiting ICE tactics in dealing with rioters, Cross claimed Trump’s supporters lacked “a moral compass.”
“You keep smirking, Scott, but, I mean, you say on this show routinely horrific things. You make jokes about people in prison in El Salvador,” Cross said. “I mean, these things are— they speak to the heart of Americans and what we see people are going through. It’s not a political standpoint to me. You know, we try to see the humanity in people and it doesn’t seem like people on the right side are capable of that.”
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Jennings folded his arms and remained silent as Cross criticized both Americans who voted for Trump in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 elections and ICE agents.
“I’m really concerned about who exactly is working for ICE. Like there has not, as far as I know, there has not been any extensive investigation into these hiring practices. I’m curious how many Proud Boys are on the payroll at ICE?” Cross said. “There was a Slate journalist who tried to get hired at ICE after a six-minute interview. She was offered a job without any of the background checks, without even a domestic violence background check. They are casting a wide net of deplorable people who hold certain ideological beliefs, people who have Nazi tattoos on their neck and defending them on American cities. And it’s costing local municipalities millions of dollars.”
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin flatly denied Cross’s claims when reached for comment by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“That’s lunacy, and completely irresponsible lies during a serious moment for our country,” McLaughlin told the DCNF.
“CNN NewsNight” host Abby Phillip then turned to Jennings, asking if he had anything to say.
“Respond to what?” Jennings asked. Then after Phillip explained, he added, “Oh, you’re worried about tattoos, like the guy that’s going to win the Maine senator primary with the Nazi tattoo?”
“Here we go. Let’s deflect. Like let’s— ” Cross said, before Jennings cut her off, saying, “No, I’m asking. If you’re worried about tattoos, I’d just ask— ”
Cross then insisted Jennings talk about “what’s happening in America.”
“Yes, look, I don’t— I’m not going to respond to ad hominem attacks on 70 million Americans who decided to vote Republican in the November 2024 election,” Jennings fired back. “I don’t think it’s right to come out here— you call people liars. You call anybody who votes Republican, you say they don’t have a moral compass. I think I’m just— I don’t feel— ”
“I didn’t say, ‘Anybody who votes Republican.’ I said, ‘the people who voted for Donald Trump,’” Cross claimed. “Okay, that’s a Republican and he won in November with Republicans who voted for him,” Jennings responded. “So, don’t back away from your feelings. That’s how you feel.”
After additional back and forth, during which Cross doubled down on her attacks on Trump voters, Jennings replied.
“I don’t feel like I have to respond to these attacks. In fact, I think you ought ask her if she really believes 70 million people lack a moral compass,” Jennings said.
Tucker Carlson, a co-founder of the Daily Caller and Daily Caller News Foundation, compared the MSNBC shows of Cross and fellow MSNBC host Joy Reid to “Hutu radio” during an October 2022 episode of his Fox News show, referencing media which reportedly incited the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
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