CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings erupted in laughter during a heated segment Thursday night after fellow commentator Ana Navarro claimed President Joe Biden doesn’t “tell many lies.”
The exchange came after Navarro, also a co-host on ABC’s The View, defended Biden’s denial of reports that he had told then-Vice President Kamala Harris to maintain “no daylight” between their agendas during her 2024 campaign. The quote, detailed in Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House by reporters Amie Parnes and Jonathan Allen, has been seen as a factor that limited Harris’s ability to distinguish herself from Biden’s unpopular administration.
Jennings pressed Navarro, asking if she truly believed Biden had never lied. Navarro responded, “I don’t think he tells many lies,” prompting Jennings to bend over in laughter and spark a tense back-and-forth.
Navarro pushed back, saying Jennings was too quick to trust the reporting over Biden’s on-air response earlier that day on The View. “You think reporting can never be wrong?” she challenged, while Jennings accused her of believing Biden over credible sourcing.
The exchange escalated as Navarro accused Jennings of hypocrisy, referencing his support for Donald Trump. “You support a guy who lies every freaking day,” she shouted. Jennings maintained that Biden’s denial was implausible, and criticized the president’s memory.
CNN anchor Abby Phillip ultimately cut off the exchange as tensions flared. Later, Jennings continued the debate online, tagging the book’s authors and calling on them to defend their reporting. Jonathan Allen responded Friday, saying, “We stand by our reporting,” and noted The View itself acknowledged it was “deeply sourced.”