CNN commentator Scott Jennings on January 27, 2026 (Image: Screegrab via CNN / YouTube)
Conservative CNN commentator Scott Jennings was recently on the ropes in his defense of how President Donald Trump's administration is responding to the fatal shooting of 37 year-old U.S. citizen Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In a Tuesday segment, Jennings – who once spoke alongside Trump at a campaign rally — said Trump was "in a little bit of a strange situation" regarding last weekend's shooting, but celebrated his call for a thorough investigation. He also said he wasn't sure of what Trump meant when he said he was going to de-escalate in Minnesota.
""I would just caution all these people, you cannot let an angry mob nullify federal law in a jurisdiction if they do that," Jennings said.
At that point, New York Times podcast host Lulu Garcia-Navarro pushed back, asking Jennings if he was characterizing "the American people" as an "angry mob." Jennings doubled down on his remarks.
"These people in Minneapolis are an angry mob, whether you like it or not," he said. "They don't like the fact that the president is enforcing longstanding federal immigration law."
"Does that mean they should be shot on the street, Scott?" CNN host Kasie Hunt prodded. "That's the question we're talking about."
"No. The debate is about what the president's going to do next," he countered. "And if you were to let them win and you were to be run out of town, what do you think would happen in L.A., Chicago, New York, all over the country?"
Hunt then asked Jennings if he felt the shooting was "problematic," with Jennings agreeing. Garcia-Navarro then repeatedly asked: "Is it wrong? Is it wrong? Is it wrong?"
"Is it wrong? Was what happened to Alex Pretti on the street wrong?" Hunt asked.
"Was it wrong? I'm waiting for an investigation, which I fully support." He said. "I want an investigation. I don't like that people have died. I don't like this chaos. But I also don't like the idea that we're just going to say, well, in this one little territory, we're not going to enforce federal laws anymore. That doesn't strike me as a good idea for the president right now. So he's in a he's got a tricky situation. It's very complex. But being run out of town by an angry mob to me is not an option."
Former Democratic National Committee communications director Mo Elleithee then reminded Jennings that "there was no rush to an investigation" after Pretti shot, or after the fatal shooting of U.S. citizen Renee Good by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross earlier this month. She also observed that Trump administration officials "at the highest level" were "blaming the victims" immediately after.
"And to Lulu's point, earlier, a lot of Americans said, 'well, if that's going to be how this plays out, then what's to stop it from being me?' That's what people are so angry about," he said. "They are angry. Not that the president is enforcing his immigration goals, that ICE is doing it in a way that is indiscriminate, that has led to violence ... You talked earlier about whether or not local officials are cooperating. It's this administration that is getting cited for contempt of court for not honoring court orders. It's this administration that is icing out the local officials when it comes to the investigations of these shootings. So I think that's what people are angry about. I'm angry about it. I don't think I'm part of a mob. I'm angry when I see my government not being accountable when it is violating virtually every, violating the constitution. In many of these cases, when it comes to due process, when it comes to search and seizure issues, that's not what even his biggest supporters voted for. And that's why you're seeing a cratering in in public support."
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