Republican strategist Scott Jennings and Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell clashed in a tense exchange on Thursday regarding the issues President-Elect Donald Trump campaigned on.
Jennings hailed Trump’s selection of Susie Wiles to be his White House chief of staff. In his first term, Trump went through four chiefs of staff.
“I think we ought to all look at this as a wise decision, a good decision,” Jennings said on Thursday’s CNN NewsNight. “And for everybody out there wanting Trump to pivot or change or somehow, whatever you want him to do, he just won a mandate from the American people to execute on the program that he laid out in this election. It wasn’t particularly close. And I think he ought to put people in place who are gonna do it.”
“Who will go after his enemies?” Rampell asked, alluding to the fact that Trump has repeatedly threatened to go after some of his opponents.
“That’s not what he ran on,” Jennings insisted.
“Yes it is!” Rampell exclaimed. “Look at what he said in the past week. He literally said that he was going to exact vengeance.”
“You still don’t understand how you lost,” he responded.
“Don’t say me,” an indignant Rampell said. “I’m not a Democrat.”
Jennings made a face that seemed to displease her.
“I’m a journalist,” she replied.
“He ran on the issues that people care about,” he said.
Host Abby Phillip interjected.
“Nobody’s saying he didn’t run on those things,” Phillip stated. “But he also ran on vengeance. He did also run on going after the people who went after him.”
Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky added, “He literally said, ‘I am your retribution,’ ‘the Biden crime family,’ ‘lock her up.'”
“I’m heartened that the left still cannot figure this out,” Jennings mocked. “Good sign.”
Moments later, Rampell took another shot at Jennings.
“I admire your, I don’t know if I want to call it your naiveté or optimism that Trump is going to run on the policies that you care about, about deregulation and tax cuts and whatnot,” she said. “That’s just not what his campaign was about.
“I think, with all due respect, I’ve run more campaigns than you,” Jennings said. “And I know what campaigns are about, and I know why people walk into the voting booths.”
“Why people walk into the voting booth and what Trump plans to do when handed the presidency are two different things,” Rampell replied.
Watch above via CNN.