A heated exchange on CNN’s “NewsNight with Abby Phillip” erupted Friday when the host clashed with senior political commentator Scott Jennings over whether President Donald Trump was exaggerating unrest in Portland to justify sending in federal troops.
The discussion grew increasingly tense as Jennings interrupted Phillip repeatedly — until guest commentator Van Lathan weighed in, shifting the tone of the debate and sparking an avalanche of reactions online.
The broadcast took place just hours before a court ruling undercut Jennings’ defense of Trump’s rhetoric.
On Saturday, a federal judge halted the Trump administration’s call-up of 200 National Guard troops in Oregon, ruling that the president’s claims of daily unrest in Portland were “untethered to facts” and risked plunging the country into “an unconstitutional form of military rule.”
“This is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law,” wrote U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee.
Immergut found that Trump’s decision to deploy troops rested on “false claims about nightly unrest” targeting federal buildings in Portland. Police had described recent protests as “small, manageable, and largely peaceful,” contradicting the administration’s portrayal of chaos.
The Justice Department argued that Trump’s judgment deserved “enormous deference,” but Immergut rejected that reasoning, writing that “‘a great level of deference’ is not equivalent to ignoring the facts on the ground.”
The ruling appeared to vindicate the argument Phillip had made earlier on CNN, after Jennings defended Trump’s portrayal of Portland as “war-ravaged” and insisted that violent protesters had assaulted an ICE facility.
The panel set up the segment by introducing the White House reaction to the Thursday night arrest of MAGA influence Nick Sortor outside of a Portland ICE facility where he was confronting anti-ICE protesters.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Friday that Sortor was “ambushed by Antifa thugs.” Sortor and two protesters were charged with disorderly conduct and later released.
Leavitt, speaking in the White House press briefing room, vowed that the Department of Justice is “launching a full investigation” into Sortor’s arrest and there will be “an additional surge of federal resources to Portland immediately.” Phillip asked if such federal intervention is justifiable.
“They are assaulting the ICE facility! They are assaulting the ICE facility!” Jennings argued in video posted to social media.
Phillip pushed back, saying the incidents were being overstated. “Portland is a city, and it’s not a perfect city, but it is a city, and something occurring in one city block is suddenly, Portland is war-ravaged?” she asked.
Jennings pressed again: “Do you dispute that they’ve attacked the ICE facility?”
Phillip replied, “I didn’t say anything about that, I said that it’s happening in one block of the city, so does that constitute Portland being a war-ravaged city?”
Jennings doubled down. “I think what’s happening in Portland is a disgrace, nobody wants to go there, and yes, parts of the city are ravaged by these protesters, and federal officials believe their facility is under attack.”
Phillip pushed back once more: “Would you describe the city as war-ravaged, even when there are violent protests, which by the way, nothing new about violent protesters, you know —”
Jennings abruptly cut in. “So we should let it go?”
Phillip tried to drive home her point that the president was using isolated incidents of violence as a pretext to send in the military and Jennings was once again not backing down.
At that point, Phillip let it go and turned to Van Lathan, who stepped in with a broader critique.
And while Jennings had all the energy for Phillip, things took a turn when Lathan began speaking.
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“Portland isn’t a war-ravaged city,” Lathan began. “I think political spin is a part of ginning up everything that you need to do to execute whatever agenda that you have. I mean, the president said that he feels like American cities can be training grounds for the military.”
“It’s interesting here that everybody was arrested, and they’re honing in on this one guy,” Lathan continued. “The underlying, I guess, lesson that I get from that is kind of the lesson I get from MAGA, is that they get to choose which Americans matter insofar as who we should care about gets arrested, who we should care about is treated fairly.
Clips of the exchange spread rapidly on social media, with many viewers focusing on Jennings’ behavior toward Phillip in contrast to Lathan.
“What I found interesting is him constantly interrupting Abby Phillip, but kept them lips sealed for the gentleman Van Lathan! Smh,” one viewer wrote on Threads.
Another user was blunt while observing Jennings: “Jennings shut the f— up.”
Others were just sick and tired, “This is clearly the @abbydphillip and @scottjenningsky
show atp bc WHY IS HE ALWAYS THERE?!?! Every single episode?! Talking absolute garbage. Its so annoying. Also: them not talking about whats happening in Chicago is even more annoying.”
“STOP giving Scott Jennings a voice!! He SPEWS lies & misinformation!!”, added another.
“Abby is too nice when it comes to Scott Jennings. He is sickening”
Others had advice for Phillip, “Dear Abby, Dear Abby: you are measured and thoughtful and smart. But your show’s format is trash and I am unable to watch it. It’s nothing but internet trolls like this racist buffoon Jennings and other similar foul leakage from Trump’s overfilled diaper spreading absurd lies and hate while decent human beings try to get a word in edgewise. The show is just Jerry Springer with pundits.”
This isn’t the first time viewers took notice of Jenning’s shift when he’s not arguining with Phillip.
Following Saturday’s court ruling, the White House issued a statement defending the president’s deployment to Portland.
“President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement — we expect to be vindicated by a higher court,” said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson.
The ruling marked another setback as Trump expanded troop deployments to other cities over local objections. On Saturday, he ordered National Guard troops to Chicago, despite protests from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and made similar moves in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., where officials have filed lawsuits to block the deployments.
Federal law limits military involvement in domestic law enforcement, but the president can deploy troops to protect federal property if civil unrest impedes government functions. Still, Immergut warned that the administration’s argument “risk[s] blurring the line between civil and military federal power — to the detriment of this nation.”
The administration plans to appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which previously reinstated Trump’s authority to deploy troops in Los Angeles. But Immergut emphasized that conditions in Portland did not meet the legal threshold for such action.
