WASHINGTON — Conservative CNN pundit Scott Jennings is mulling a run to replace retiring Kentucky GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell — but is waiting to see if President Trump will give him the green light.
“If the president wants me, I’ll run,” the veteran political strategist spilled at an afterparty following Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, according to the Daily Beast.
“If he wants somebody else, I’ll support that candidate,” added Jennings, a onetime adviser to McConnell, who will retire next year after being the longest-serving Senate leader of either party in the upper chamber’s history.
A well-connected GOP operative told The Post that Jennings’ interest in running for Senate was “certainly not fake.”
Jennings, 47, who did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment, has emerged as a popular commentator for his frequent appearances on CNN’s “News Night With Abby Phillip” over the past year.
His clashes with liberal pundits on the show and game defenses of Trump administration policies have earned him gushing praise from Republicans and Democrats alike.
Last month, Jennings received a big pay raise and a new contract at CNN, even though the network declined to let him headline his own show.
“He defends me all the time on CNN, and he defends me really well, but he can’t go too far because he’ll get fired,” Trump said of Jennings at a campaign-style rally in Warren, Mich., Tuesday night to mark the president’s 100th day in office.
In a show of support, Trump invited Jennings on stage — joking that it would be “the end” of his TV appearances on CNN.
“Michigan, we were flying in here today, and I said, ‘Look at these farms. I’ve got to get a farm in Michigan — because when you own as many libs as I do, you gotta get a place to put them all,’” Jennings riffed after taking the mic from the commander in chief.
“I think he relishes a role in challenging the overwhelmingly liberal audience,” ex-Obama adviser and CNN commentator Van Jones told the Daily Caller of Jennings in January.
“But he also understands television. The heel has to be more of a likable rascal than someone who’s just perceived as utterly evil. He knows how to dance that dance. It’s a rare gift.”
“Could I nominate [Scott Jennings] for the United States Senate from the Commonwealth of Kentucky? He’d be a hell of a McConnell replacement,” conservative radio host Erick Erickson tweeted in February.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee declined to comment about Jennings launching a bid for the Kentucky seat.
Former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced his candidacy within minutes of McConnell announcing his retirement in February — and Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) joined the fray last week.
Lexington-based businessman Nate Morris, another potential candidate, has ripped Cameron and Barr in social media posts as “puppets” for the former Senate majority leader.
“I’m not gonna let Mitch McConnell dictate whether I run or not,” Morris said in February post on X. “Mitch McConnell, unfortunately, has sold Kentucky conservatives out for years now. He’s turned his back on us — and he’s turned his back on President Trump.”
Trump has yet to make any formal endorsement.
