A conservative political analyst said Donald Trump made a huge mess by casting doubt on Kamala Harris’ race on Wednesday.
Scott Jennings was a guest on CNN NewsNight when host Abby Phillip asked him about the strategy behind Trump’s claim that the vice president “accidentally turned black” a few years ago.
“He shit the bed today,” the pundit and political strategist said, before using an apt metaphor. “The only question is whether he’s going to roll around in it or get up and change the sheets.”
Trump started his nonsense earlier in the day when he questioned whether his rival was Indian or black, which resulted in a bizarre interview at the National Association of Black Journalists.
The comments prompted responses from the White House, numerous media figures and Harris herself — and were therefore a hot topic on Wednesday CNN NewsNight.
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Conservative political analyst Scott Jennings, political director of President George W. Bush’s 2000 Kentucky campaign, argued Wednesday that Donald Trump shot himself in the foot by questioning Kamala Harris’s race.
On the CNN program, Phillip began by asking Jennings whether he thinks Trump’s comments were part of a premeditated strategy.
“I don’t know if I agree with that,” Jennings replied.
“Look, first of all I think he deserves points for showing up here and doing his best,” he said.
“Where is Kamala Harris today? Not there,” he continued, referring to her absence from the anticipated event, as many had expected.
“But, that being said, he did poop in the bed today. The question is whether he’s going to roll in it or get up and change the sheets.”
Phillips was visibly intrigued and asked for further insight.
“My advice would be get up, change your sheets and do what your campaign does,” Jennings replied.
“The campaign knows how to prosecute the case, okay?
“They’re on the radio about it — millions of dollars worth of her policy,” he continued. “That’s what they should be doing.”
Earlier in the day, Trump raised eyebrows when he asked whether his rival was Indian or black in an odd interview at the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago
The comments prompted responses from the White House, numerous media figures and Harris herself, and were therefore a much-discussed topic
The vice president appeared to agree Wednesday when she said in a speech at the 60th International Biennial Boulé of the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. in Houston that “the American people deserve better.”
There she urged the African-American student body to “fight” because “there is so much at stake.”
“This afternoon, Donald Trump spoke at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists,” Harris said during her speech.
‘And it was the same old story again: division and lack of respect.
Let me put it this way: The American people deserve better.
“A leader who tells the truth,” she continued. “Who doesn’t react with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us.
“They are an essential source of our strength,” she added.
During her speech, Harris also spoke about the so-called “promise of America,” and addressed the current cost of living crisis and concepts like equal pay for women, before briefly addressing the elephant in the room: Trump’s comments.
The vice president appeared to agree Wednesday when she said “the American people deserve better,” in a speech at the 60th International Biennial Boulé of the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. in Houston
They were offered hours earlier, when ABC’s Rachel Scott, sitting across from the Republican, said many people felt it was inappropriate for him to be in Chicago, given his past comments about people of color.
Trump, visibly indignant, began, “First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such an awful way before.” He then called the reporter “mean” and “hostile,” an ode to his 2016 campaign.
“You don’t even say hello, how are you?” he continued, criticizing ABC as a “fake news network.”
“I came here in a good mood. I love the black people of this country,” he continued.
“I think it’s a very rude introduction. I don’t know exactly why you would do something like that.
Then he made his controversial comments after being asked whether he thought it was appropriate to call Harris a “DEI hire” — as several Republicans had already done.
He falsely claimed that Harris would not adapt to her black identity until it worked in her favor.
“She was always of Indian descent and she just promoted her Indian descent,” Trump said.
Hours earlier, during his now widely watched sitdown, Trump appeared to argue that Harris would not focus on her Black identity until it became appropriate — and useful — to do so
To which Jennings told host Abby Phillips, “This is not going to end the way he wants it to end. ‘There’s a better way to do this and they know what to do, but it’s up to him to do it. It’s up to him to do it’
‘I didn’t know she was black until a few years ago, when she happened to turn black.
“And now she wants to be known as black. So I don’t know. Is she Indian or is she black?
“Somebody should look into that,” he concluded, to a combination of laughter and cheering – the latter worse than the former.
“I have respect for both of them, but she clearly doesn’t.”
Scott pointed out that Harris has always identified as black, then asked if he agreed with his contemporaries that Harris was a “DEI hire.”
The conservative feigned confusion and replied: “I really don’t know, it could be,” before being greeted with a chorus of boos.
Jennings responded, “This is not going to end the way he wants it to.”
‘There’s a better way to do this and they know what to do, but it’s up to him to do it. It’s up to him to do it.
“My urgent advice is to perform,” concluded the CNN contributor, who is often quoted as a political analyst.
