Scott Jennings at the Olmsted Center at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa on January 10, 2024 (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
On CNN panels, GOP strategist Scott Jennings can be highly combative in his relentless defense of President Donald Trump. But on Newsmax, the cable news outlet that prides itself on being to the right of Fox News and Fox Business, Jennings is drawing scathing criticism for an update on the condition of former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) — who has been hospitalized for weeks.
In a Tuesday afternoon post on X, Jennings wrote, "I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky. He's still recovering in the hospital. We talked for just shy of 20 minutes … about IRAN, UKRAINE, the unfolding situation in MAINE, my visit to the TR Presidential Library, and even a little bit of Senate history. I told him we want to see him back at work as soon as possible."
Jennings' tweet isn't going over well with MAGA Republicans, many of whom deeply resent McConnell for speaking out against Trump in the past.
Finnerty, journalist Catherine Bouris notes in the Daily Beast, "found the timing of the call suspicious."
Finnerty, on Tuesday night, told Newsmax viewers, "Nobody heard from Mitch McConnell for three weeks, and today, you talked to him about Iran and the history of the vice presidency and the history of the Senate? What?.... I'm sorry, I don't buy that at all."
Finnerty argued that it is "bizarre" that Jennings didn't want to speculate about McConnell's condition even though he had "no problem" commenting on former President Joe Biden's health during his four years in the White House.
The Newsmax host told viewers, "Suddenly, he doesn't want to comment on Mitch McConnell's health because he's not a medical expert?.... I don't buy it. Something is not right. Something is going on. That was so weird."
On the show, Finnerty and his guest, journalist Desirée Townsend, noted reports that McConnell suffered a heart attack.
Finnerty said, "We still haven't seen a photo of Mitch McConnell. I don't think it's a conspiracy theory to ask for a photo of a United States senator, anything to prove this guy’s doing OK."
When Jennings appeared on CNN, host Kasie Hunt accused Republicans of being secretive about McConnell's condition and told her right-wing colleague, "Would you encourage him or anyone in his position to be more transparent with his voters about his health than he's been so far?”
