Former Joe Biden advisor Jamal Simmons did not respond well to former Mitch McConnell advisor Scott Jennings’s Tuesday question about whether he was comfortable with the news that Hunter Biden is sitting in on White House meetings as the two CNN commentators battled it out on Erin Burnett OutFront. However, all Simmons could do was deflect and falsely accuse Jennings of “yelling at me.”
As Democratic angst builds and some begin to urge him to step aside, guest host Erica Hill asked Jennings, “Scott, what do you make of the calls that we've heard today?”
Jennings responded by listing three reasons why he is stunned at Biden-related news, “Here's what I make of it. We've had—this is an amazing day. Number one, the New York Times reporting that he's lapsing in meetings. This is becoming more frequent. Number two, we found out today that a felon and a crack addict is now sitting in on White House senior staff meetings. And number three, the president is now, tonight, to his own donors, blaming a foreign trip that ended 12 days before the debate for his disastrous performance on Thursday.”
He added, “This is what you call a high-speed come apart. The White House is off the rails. The president has effectively admitted tonight that he is not up to both campaigning for president and being president. I don't know where we're going from here, but this has been a momentous day, and I'll be shocked if there aren't more Democrats who come out and say, "What are we doing? We are walking into disaster if we stick with this."
Simmons followed up by trying to turn the Biden conversation back to Donald Trump, “Are we sure Scott wasn't talking about the criminal felon that had the secret documents and he was holding in his bathroom and Mar-a- Lago because there was a felon that we haven't talked about tonight where that's the case.”
Jennings wasn’t having it, “Are you comfortable, Jamal? Are you comfortable with Hunter Biden running White House senior staff meeting? Do you think this is good? Do you think this is good?”
Simmons didn’t have a good response, “Why are you yelling? Why are you yelling at me?”
While Jennings may have raised his voice above a normal conversation level while pointing his finger at the camera, it is a wild exaggeration to claim he was yelling, “Come on, I'm not—I'm asking you, I'm asking you.”
Trying to keep the conversation on topic, he added, “We're talking about Joe Biden, we're talking about Joe Biden tonight, who is admitting to his own donors, people in your party, that he can't both perform and campaign. And you want to talk about the Mar-a-Lago documents case, which is not going to come to trial before November. This is the sitting president. You worked for him. I want to know if you were in a senior staff meeting, would you want Hunter Biden looking over your shoulder? That's my question.”
Simmons, again, dodged and deflected, “Here's what I want to know. I want to know if we've got somebody in the White House who's got the judgment to look out for our freedom, or somebody who was take our freedom away. And I think what most Americans know is that the MAGA Republicans, whether its Donald Trump or Marjorie Taylor Greene, are some of the ones who are running are in the business of taking freedoms away from women and other people in this country who are trying to live their lives. And that's not what they want. And that's the reason why I think that Trump is still going to be in trouble when you get down to Election Day.”
It is a legitimate question. Why is the president’s convicted felon son taking part in official meetings with the only man in the country who has the power to pardon him?
Here is a transcript for the July 2 show:
CNN Erin Burnett OutFront
7/2/2024
7:11 PM
ERICA HILL: Scott, what do you make of the calls that we've heard today?
SCOTT JENNINGS: Unscripted long form events. Well, let's see, that's what a debate is. I mean, he had 90 minutes of an unscripted event the other night and it was a disaster.
Here's what I make of it. We've had — this is an amazing day. Number one, the New York Times reporting that he's lapsing in meetings. This is becoming more frequent. Number two, we found out today that a felon and a crack addict is now sitting in on White House senior staff meetings. And number three, the president is now, tonight, to his own donors, blaming a foreign trip that ended 12 days before the debate for his disastrous performance on Thursday.
This is what you call a high-speed come apart. The White House is off the rails. The president has effectively admitted tonight that he is not up to both campaigning for president and being president.
I don't know where we're going from here, but this has been a momentous day, and I'll be shocked if there aren't more Democrats who come out and say, "what are we doing? We are walking into disaster if we stick with this."
JAMAL SIMMONS: Are we sure Scott wasn't talking about the criminal felon that had the secret documents and he was holding in his bathroom and Mar-a- Lago because there was a felon that we haven't talked about tonight where that's the case.
JENNINGS: Are you comfortable, Jamal? Are you comfortable with Hunter Biden running White House senior staff meeting?
SIMMONS: Why are you yelling?
JENNINGS: Do you think this is good? Do you think this is good?
SIMMONS: Why are you yelling at me?
JENNINGS: Come on, I'm not— I'm asking you, I'm asking you.
SIMMONS: Listen, listen –JENNNINGS: We're talking about Joe Biden, we're talking about Joe Biden tonight, who is admitting to his own donors, people in your party, that he can't both perform and campaign. And you want to talk about the Mar-a-Lago documents case, which is not going to come to trial before November. This is the sitting president. You worked for him. I want to know if you were in a senior staff meeting, would you want Hunter Biden looking over your shoulder? That's my question.
SIMMONS: Here's what I want to know. I want to know if we've got somebody in the White House who's got the judgment to look out for our freedom, or somebody who was take our freedom away.
And I think what most Americans know is that the MAGA Republicans, whether its Donald Trump or Marjorie Taylor Greene, are some of the ones who are running are in the business of taking freedoms away from women and other people in this country who are trying to live their lives. And that's not what they want.
And that's the reason why I think that Trump is still going to be in trouble when you get down to Election Day.
