CNN Republican commentator Scott Jennings mocked Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) as a “buffoon” ahead of Tuesday evening’s scheduled vice presidential debate between Walz and Senator JD Vance (R-OH).
Jennings took part in a panel discussion during Sunday morning’s broadcast of “State of the Union,” and he pushed back on claims from former Kamala Harris spokesperson Ashley Etienne — who argued that Walz was uniquely able to help the vice president reach out to “disaffected Republicans.”
WATCH:
On #CNNSOTU with @JakeTapper, @ErinMPerrine, @FinneyK, @AshleyEtienne09 & @ScottJenningsKY give their advice for the vice presidential nominees ahead of the debate pic.twitter.com/VHvp9doWK0
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) September 29, 2024
Anchor Jake Tapper started off the exchange by saying that he couldn’t remember a time when the vice presidential candidates from the two major parties disliked each other as much as Vance and Walz appeared to, but he also wondered if the vice presidential picks had ever been as “consequential” as they seem to be in the 2024 election cycle.
Etienne piggy-backed on that by first claiming that Vance was a drag on former President Donald Trump’s ticket and then arguing that Walz — a decidedly liberal governor who has signed off on legislation that guaranteed males the right to change in women’s locker rooms and to play on their sports teams — could reach the moderate demographics that Harris herself has struggled to reach.
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“The reason why he was picked was to bridge that cultural divide, to reach out to constituencies that the Democratic Party has had problems, you know, reaching — moderate Republicans, disaffected Republicans, independent Republicans, you know, he’s signaling to a constituency that you can vote for this ticket,” she continued. “He’s incredibly consequential to the Harris ticket.”
Tapper noticed that Jennings, while Etienne was speaking, had some difficulty in keeping a straight face — so he turned the floor over to the Kentucky-based Republican next.
“Well, first of all, I don’t find him to be consequential. Second of all, Walz is a buffoon, I’m sorry, this guy. He’s the only school teacher in America who brags that none of his students can get into an Ivy League school,” Jennings began. “He’s had one consequential press interaction with our Dana Bash, who asked him about the fabrications in his own resume, and his answer was essentially, ‘Me no understand words good.’ I mean, he’s a buffoon. He’s on a free ride, for running under Harris, he gets very little press. They don’t let him talk to the press for a reason.”
“I want one thing out of this debate,” Jennings concluded. “I want JD Vance to go out there and get under his skin. He has a legendary hot, short temper. A lot of governors do, but … apparently he does. I want JD Vance to go out there and have him explain why he is denigrating JD Vance’s story, small town America, ends up making something better out of his life, which is something we should want for every kid.”
