{"id":2647489,"date":"2026-08-20T16:55:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T20:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnn-clashes-built-scott-jennings-for-the-white-house-briefing-room\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T16:58:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T20:58:28","slug":"cnn-clashes-built-scott-jennings-for-the-white-house-briefing-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnn-clashes-built-scott-jennings-for-the-white-house-briefing-room\/","title":{"rendered":"CNN clashes built Scott Jennings for the White House briefing room"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcnn-clashes-built-scott-jennings-for-the-white-house-briefing-room%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2647489&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Scott Jennings, a seasoned CNN commentator known for his confrontational style and defenses of Donald Trump, is being considered for the role of White House press secretary. His experience with media and ability to defend Trump could make him a suitable candidate,although sources question whether he is prepared for the less glamorous,strategic aspects of the job,such as managing reporters and handling off-camera pressures. Jennings\u2019s background includes a high salary as a media pundit and a popular podcast, raising concerns about whether a stint as press secretary would be advantageous for his career. Despite his cordial relationship with Trump, who has publicly praised Jennings\u2019s defense of him, Jennings has also expressed criticism of Trump, notably regarding the Capitol riot.Potential challenges include the job&#8217;s demanding nature and the risk of damaging his media profile. some believe it may not be the most beneficial move for Jennings long-term, considering the job&#8217;s constraints and controversies.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scott Jennings has spent years sparring with the Left and the media as a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/cnn\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"732\">CNN<\/a> commentator, developing a combative highlight reel that could have him prepared for the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"8767\">White House <\/a>briefing room should he leave his lucrative cable news network contract to become President Donald Trump\u2019s next press secretary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jennings\u2019s defenses of Trump on CNN, where he has worked since 2017, could be a preview of his approach to an oft-hostile White House press corps should he become the president\u2019s top spokesman.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4695048\/scott-jennings-cnn-experience-press-secretary-sweepstakes\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>CNN clashes built Scott Jennings for the White House briefing room. But is the risk worth the reward?<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4694803\/donald-melania-trump-fostering-future\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>WATCH LIVE: Donald and Melania Trump make an announcement on \u2018Fostering the Future\u2019 program<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4694467\/trump-white-house-insiders-replacement-legislative-affairs-chief\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump eyes White House insiders to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-eyes-wh-insiders-to-replace-outgoing-legislative-affairs-chief\/\" title=\"... eyes WH insiders to replace outgoing legislative affairs chief\">replace outgoing legislative affairs chief<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But sources close to the White House raise questions over whether the ex-aide to former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/george-w-bush\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"697\">George W. Bush<\/a> and Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mitch-mcconnell\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"436\">Mitch McConnell<\/a> (R-KY) is ready for the off-camera parts of the role, particularly when he is already a prominent talking head, reportedly earning more than $500,000 a year, and hosts a popular podcast.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of those sources told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that Jennings was on their short list to replace outgoing press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who earns the federally mandated salary cap of $195,200 for full-time White House employees, even before she announced her decision to spend more time with her young family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leavitt gave birth to her second child, a daughter named Viviana, in May.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s all the non-TV stuff that could be either a vulnerability or just something he doesn\u2019t want to do,\u201d the source said of Jennings. \u201cBriefings are maybe once a week. All the other story strategy and random fires is most of the job, which I don\u2019t know he would want to do.\u201d A second source expressed shock to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that Jennings would \u201ceven want\u201d to be press secretary.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Jennings\u2019s stock has risen amid reports on Thursday that he met with White House chief of staff <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/susie-wiles\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"11678\">Susie Wiles <\/a>last weekend and circulated clips of him defending Trump staffer <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/natalie-harp\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"23456\">Natalie Harp<\/a> among his possible colleagues this week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jon-ossoff\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"3194\">Jon Ossoff<\/a> (D-GA) appeared to reference an extramarital relationship between Trump and Harp last weekend during a campaign rally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some say the role might not be worth the headaches for the well-paid pundit.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe has more to lose than gain, considering he doesn\u2019t have a well-established relationship with the president,\u201d the source said of Jennings. \u201cThere\u2019s a chance he\u2019s there for a few months and the president sours on him and decides he actually wants a woman in the role and discards Scott, and then Scott gave up a CNN contributorship and radio show for what? Sure, he could get them back, but going to work for Trump could harm his image if Trump doesn\u2019t end up liking him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But to the source\u2019s point, working for Trump does have its own very specific occupational hazards. For instance, former White House press secretary <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/sean-spicer\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1797\">Sean Spicer<\/a> had to grapple with the repercussions of his infamous assertion that, during Trump\u2019s first term, the president drew \u201cthe largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you ask me for one thing that I probably want a do-over on, that\u2019s it,\u201d Spicer told NPR in 2017. \u201cThere was nobody happy with me that night.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The source added that while Jennings \u201cwould be great at skewering media behind the podium,\u201d this person was \u201cnot sure he has the other credentials to do the job,\u201d including managing reporter relationships or \u201chaving the balls to tell Trump \u2018no.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFrom what it sounds like, Karoline did do both of those things,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jennings did not respond to a request for comment from the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, but he does have a cordial relationship with Trump. The pair spent time together for the Republican strategist\u2019s book, <em>A Revolution of Common Sense<\/em>, before it was published last year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe\u2019s defending me all the time on CNN,\u201d Trump said of Jennings at a rally in Michigan last year. \u201cHe defends me really well, but he can\u2019t go too far because if he goes too far, he\u2019ll get fired.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jennings has, however, criticized Trump in the past, even if sparingly. He wrote an op-ed in 2021 contending that the president was responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPresident Donald Trump caused this insurrection with his lies and conspiracy theories about the election process being rigged against him,\u201d Jennings wrote for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2021\/01\/06\/opinions\/trump-caused-capitol-hill-insurrection-jennings\">CNN<\/a> at the time. \u201cI\u2019m ashamed and embarrassed for our country, and for any Republican who fails to condemn this shameful behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4694467\/trump-white-house-insiders-replacement-legislative-affairs-chief\/\"><strong>TRUMP EYES WHITE HOUSE INSIDERS TO REPLACE OUTGOING LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS CHIEF<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, a third source told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that Jennings needs to ask himself whether, if he were to become the White House press secretary, he is \u201cgoing to be in a better spot two years from now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf Scott Jennings wanted to run for office, like with <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/sarah-huckabee-sanders\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"10129\">Sarah [Huckabee Sanders]<\/a>, it\u2019s a different conversation,\u201d the source said. \u201cBut if you want to be a media commentator, a talking head, for the rest of your life, I don\u2019t know what you really get out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scott Jennings\u2019s CNN defenses hint at a potential White House role<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3007,"featured_media":2647490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21301756916793.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50623,32171,38862,46666],"class_list":["post-2647489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-cnn-2","tag-political-commentary","tag-scott-jennings","tag-white-house-briefing"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP21301756916793.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3007"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2647489"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2647494,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647489\/revisions\/2647494"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2647490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2647489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2647489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2647489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}