Scott Jennings’s attempt at defending Donald Trump failed miserably as he unintentionally called the President a ‘stupid person’ on national television. The slip of the tongue occurred on December 26, 2025, when the conservative political strategist appeared on CNN’s NewsNight.
During the show, host Abby Phillip brought up the topic of the Kennedy Center’s renaming to The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center. She asked Jennings whether he would be okay with the next Democratic president pulling off a similar move and renaming historic buildings.
Phillip asked, “What happens when the next Democratic president just decides, you know, ‘We’re gonna call it the Obama-Lincoln Memorial? We’re just gonna slap, you know, Bill Clinton’s name on something, anything arbitrarily.’ Are you guys gonna be cool with that?”
Jennings then tried to defend the renaming and take shots at Democrats, but he fell short on both counts. In his argument, the 48-year-old said that putting one name on someone else’s statue would make them the ‘stupidest person.’
Jennings: So you’re saying a Democrat would put Obama’s name on a statue that isn’t of him? That would make him look like the stupidest person that ever lived.
Phillip: I’m glad you said that because The Kennedy Center is literally a congressionally named memorial. pic.twitter.com/L8JaE7P0xp
— Acyn (@Acyn) December 27, 2025
He failed to realize that Trump, whom he supports ardently, has pulled off a similar move on the Kennedy Center. Jennings stated, “So you’re saying a Democrat would put Obama’s name on a statue that isn’t of him? That would make them look like the stupidest person that ever lived.”
Of course, Phillip was not going to let it pass, so she replied, “I’m glad you said that because the Kennedy Center is literally a Congressionally named memorial.”
Realizing that he had messed up and indirectly called Trump ‘the stupidest person,’ Jennings tried to change the subject. He attempted to shift the discussion toward the idea that a statue cannot be renamed, while the host maintained that a memorial’s name essentially serves the same function.
While the conversation turned into a debate about statues versus buildings, social media had a field day mocking Jennings for his mistake. One user asked, “Why is he even given airtime when all he does is waste oxygen and add NO value?”
Someone else said, “Scott Jennings is a pathological liar and a snarky parasite who’s honestly almost as dumb as Donald Trump and Kevin O’Leary. Which is crazy considering O’Leary might be the dumbest Canadian in human history.”
Scott Jennings is a pathological liar and a snarky parasite who’s honestly almost as dumb as Donald Trump and Kevin O’Leary. Which is crazy considering O’Leary might be the dumbest Canadian in human history. https://t.co/kPZeH4r5ub
— Bob-Cat-Man (@bob_cat_man) December 28, 2025
Another user posted, “Scott Jennings always argues with zero goodfaith…. He knows he’s a clown, but he will degrade himself every day for a paycheck.”
One also commented, “Only Scott is stupid enough not to understand the difference between a statue (representing a specific individual) & a building (which may/or may not be dedicated to honor a specific purpose or person).”
Despite the error, Jennings continues to make appearances on CNN as an on-air contributor. Outside of his television career, Jennings is known for working as the deputy director of political affairs under George W. Bush.
As for the Kennedy Center, Trump’s name was added to the building after a vote by the board members, which, unsurprisingly, had been chosen by the President himself. The move has drawn sharp criticism from the Kennedy family members and Democrats.
