CNN slammed for employing 'Scumbag Scott' Jennings after he was caught misquoting Tim Walz

CNN contributor Scott Jennings at the Democratic National Convention in August of 2024 (Image: Screengrab via CNN / YouTube)

CNN pundit Scott Jennings — a stalwart defender of President Donald Trump and his policies — was recently caught taking a quote from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) out of context. Now, both Jennings and his employer are being called out.

Early Thursday morning, shortly after federal agents shot a man in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Gov. Walz posted a statement to X that read: "I know you're angry. I'm angry. What Donald Trump wants is violence in the streets. But Minnesota will remain an island of decency, of justice, of community and of peace. Don't give him what he wants."

Several hours later, Jennings took one element of Walz's statement and posted it by itself to suggest that the Minnesota governor was attempting to have his state declare its independence from the federal government. He then used that misquote to justify Trump's threat to invoke the Insurrection Act.

Journalist and podcaster Brian Beutler condemned Jennings over his misquoting of Walz on Thursday, posting both Walz's quote and Jennings' tweet side-by-side. He called Jennings' post a "dishonestly truncated quote" of the Minnesota governor.

"CNN pays Scumbag Scott to peddle lies just like this one to its audience every day," Beutler said of Jennings.

Jennings — who once spoke alongside Trump at an April 2025 rally — was roundly criticized for his post. The Bulwark's Andrew Egger suggested the CNN contributor may "actually incapable of imagining a more explicit way in which a politician could say 'we're seceding.'"

"Are you really this stupid or do you just find stupidity an effective approach to the morons in your audience?" Journalist Doug Henwood posted.

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) piled on CNN, asking the network if Jennings was their "guy," and reminded him that Walz said Minnesota was an island "of decency."

"Shame on you @ScottJennings I’m sure your grandchildren will thank you for pouring gasoline on the fire," Himes wrote.

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