CNN Senior Political Commentator Scott Jennings verbally sparred with Seneca Project CEO Tara Setmayer on “CNN NewsNight” Monday over President Donald Trump’s diplomatic efforts.
Trump announced he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday to secure an end to the war in Ukraine. Jennings noted Trump had secured multiple peace deals across the globe and argued he deserved “leeway” for the upcoming meeting with the Russian president.
“The head of the NATO secretary general is acknowledging publicly that yes, there’s going to have to be some concessions here to get the war to end,” Jennings said about what it might take to reach a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. “The President has solved like seven conflicts this year. I’m willing to give him some latitude to talk to Vladimir Putin and break the deadlock and try to move us toward a place where the killing comes to an end, because I think that’s what we should all be praying for.”
“He actually hasn’t solved seven conflicts. There’s been a lot of talk about that and there’s no question — but —” Setmayer claimed before Jennings asked, “What reality do you live in?”
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Setmayer and Jennings then argued, with Jennings noting Trump had brought world leaders to the White House where “they’re signing documents and shaking hands” before Setmayer claimed Trump had “an affinity for Vladimir Putin.”
“A lie,” Jennings responded, prompting Setmayer to claim, “You know, you’re not going to get away with calling me a liar.”
“You’re lying. You’re lying,” Jennings said, with Setmayer responding, “I’m not lying. Nobody’s lying about anything.”
Special Counsel John Durham released a report in May 2023 regarding the origins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of allegations that Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Russia. It found that the FBI “did not and could not corroborate” the claims from the now-discredited Steele Dossier, which was used to launch the probe. After further back-and-forth, Setmayer again claimed Trump had an “affinity” for Putin.
“Anyway, so Donald Trump’s affinity for Vladimir Putin versus the way he treats Zelenskyy, who’s the one that’s actually fighting for —” Setmayer said, with Jennings cutting in by saying, “Did he show affinity to them when he just arranged for the arms to NATO?”
In July, Trump reached an agreement with NATO where members of the alliance would purchase weapons, including MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missiles, and donate them to Ukraine. (RELATED: ‘Have They Been Rigged?’: Scott Jennings Lists Blue States Where Dems Dominate Congressional Maps)
“Can we just let her finish so that we can —” “CNN NewsNight host Abby Phillip said, before Jennings pointed out, “We’re saying things that do not exist in reality.”
“That is — that is absolutely not true,” Setmayer claimed, with Jennings shooting back, “We just got NATO to do hundreds of millions of dollars of lethal weapons to Ukraine. What affinity to Russia is that? It’s crazy.”
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