A CNN panel devolved into chaos Monday as guests Max Boot and Scott Jennings locked horns over President Donald Trump‘s unabashed support for embattled Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
The pair appeared on “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon” as Trump rallied behind the GOP candidate ahead of Tuesday’s racially charged election. Hyde-Smith, who wound up winning the Senate runoff race against Democrat Mike Espy, was mired in controversy after she was caught on tape “joking” about attending a public hanging.
Guest Max Boot (far right) ripped into commentator Scott Jennings for excusing Donald Trump’s racism. (CNN video screenshot)
Jennings told Lemon it didn’t surprise him the president would throw his support behind an openly racist candidate, arguing that, in this case, party trumped values. This didn’t sit well with Boot, who ripped into his fellow panelist for seemingly excusing Trump’s racism.
“We’ve had these kinds of discussions before where you offer this kind of values-neutral horse race,” Boot said, interrupting Jennings.
“Hey, Max, listen, brother, I don’t answer to you — you jump I don’t answer to you Max Boot,” Jennings shot back. “You left the Republican Party. I don’t answer to you!”
“Can I please make my comment, Scott? Is this your show or can I make a comment?” Boot yelled, struggling to get a word in before his fellow panelist cut in again.
“You interrupted me! I’m going to interrupt you back,” Jennings quipped. “Jerk!”
Lemon attempted to intervene as his two guests went at each other’s necks and chided Jennings for resorting to name calling.
“Go ahead Max. Sorry,” the host began. “And there’s no need to call names here. Come on, Scott. You don’t have to call him jerk.”
Things only went downhill from there, however.
“We discussed the kind of appalling –” Boot began before Jennings cut in, yet again.
“He does this to me. Don!” Jennings griped. “We get on these shows and Max interrupts me and I — is this your show?”
“No, Scott. You’re trying to filibuster because you’re embarrassed by what I’m going to say, which is that you engage –” Boot started in again.
Jennings argued the only thing he was embarrassed about was Boot’s “sanctimonious bull crap.”
“I’m embarrassed by your filibuster and I’m embarrassed by the fact you will not call out this blatant racism on the part of Cindy Hyde-Smith,” Boot said, driving his point home. “And you offer this kind of values-neutral horse race analysis and you refuse to condemn the bigotry of the Republican Party, the party of Lincoln. This is a disgrace to what the Republican Party has stood for so much of its history.”
Nina Turner, a former Ohio State senator, agreed and highlighted the fact that Hyde-Smith never apologized for her racist comment.
“When people are wrong and they’re upholding bigotry and flat-out racism, we should call people out. [Hyde-Smith] should not be re-elected, but shamefully, she just might be.”
Watch more in the video below.
