CNN Pundit Slammed For His Response To Trump Repeating Lie About Haitian Immigrants

Scott Jennings, a conservative commentator for CNN, is facing harsh criticism over his response to remarks fromformer President Donald Trump, who repeated a racist lie about Haitian immigrants during Tuesday’s presidential debate.

Duringan appearance on a segment of “NewsNight with Abby Phillip,” Republican commentator Ana Navarro asked Jennings whether he thought Trump sharing debunked claims that Haitian immigrants have been eating the pets of people who live in Springfield, Ohio was rooted in racism.

“He was amplifying a conspiracy theory that, I think you would agree, puts a target on the backs of Haitian immigrants, and that it is based on racism. Would you agree on that?” Navarro asked.

Jennings met her question with momentary silence.

“Do you think that if there were 20,000 Scandinavians that had been sent to Springfield, people would be saying that they’re eating cats and dogs and geese?” Navarro pressed further.

“I’m not going to answer for [Trump], for his memes, or for anything else,” Jennings responded, before he and Navarro engaged in a back-and-forth.

Host Phillip pointed out to Jennings that that was a “long pause” before responding to Navarro’s question, to which the conservative pundit said: “Because I don’t know the answer.”

“I’m not going to sit here and answer for somebody,” he continued. “I don’t talk to Donald Trump about what the motivations are.”

“And I don’t answer to you either,” he added, looking at Navarro.

Jennings then insisted that conversations surrounding immigration this election should focus on how immigration impacts communities as a whole.

Navarro argued that the topic of false claims surrounding Haitians eating pets was only being addressed because those lies were boosted by