Scott Jennings an American conservative political strategist, commentator and writer.
During the George W. Bush administration, Jennings was appointed special assistant to the president and deputy director of political affairs in February 2006. He had previously served as a staff member of Bush's presidential campaign in Kentucky in 2000 and executive director of Bush's 2004 re-election campaign in New Mexico in 2004. Jennings is routinely cited as an adviser to Senator Mitch McConnell, and was part of McConnell's campaigns for the U.S. Senate in 2002, 2008, and 2014.
Jennings is a founding partner of RunSwitch Public Relations, Kentucky's largest public relations firm, since 2013. He has been writing a regular column for the Louisville Courier-Journal since 2013, which is sometimes republished by USA Today. Scott was signed as an on-air contributor by CNN in 2017, and joined the Los Angeles Times as a columnist in 2019. The latest publication: A Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization
During the George W. Bush administration, Jennings was appointed special assistant to the president and deputy director of political affairs in February 2006. He had previously served as a staff member of Bush's presidential campaign in Kentucky in 2000 and executive director of Bush's 2004 re-election campaign in New Mexico in 2004. Jennings is routinely cited as an adviser to Senator Mitch McConnell, and was part of McConnell's campaigns for the U.S. Senate in 2002, 2008, and 2014.
Jennings is a founding partner of RunSwitch Public Relations, Kentucky's largest public relations firm, since 2013. He has been writing a regular column for the Louisville Courier-Journal since 2013, which is sometimes republished by USA Today. Scott was signed as an on-air contributor by CNN in 2017, and joined the Los Angeles Times as a columnist in 2019. The latest publication: A Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is a podcast from wor Now the wr Saturday
Morning Show. Here's Larry Minty. Welcome to Saturday Morning. On
this week's show, Scott Jennings, the Conservative Lion on CNN,
has a new book out about Donald Trump, called The
Revolution of Common Sense. He's here to talk about it. Scott.
(00:21):
It's great to talk to you again. Thanks for being here.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Hey, I really appreciate this conversation. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Hey. Listen, something just happened in New York today that
is a big deal. You know, zorin Mam. Donnie is
the mayor elect. I've heard you talk about him before.
Everybody was hoping that Jessica Tish was going to stay
on as police commissioner, even though they disagree with each
other on just about every law enforcement policy. We got
(00:47):
the great news today she is staying on. Does that
give you some comfort?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yeah, it doesn't a short term, but I still think
what you said is true. They disagree fundamentally on law enforcement.
Donnie repeatedly over the years make disparaging remarks about law
enforcement and his views on criminal justice in general. He
wants fewer police on the street, but he wants to
empty the prisons. And I just think that's fundamentally at
(01:13):
odds with what most people would think is a right
way to run a criminal justice system. He's also saying
this week he'll have the NYPD or as Prime Minister
net and Yahoo of Israel if he comes to New
York City. So I wonder what will happen when some
of these operational things, you know, after he takes over, happen.
And I hope Tich stays, but I get a feeling
she's going to be given orders that she simply can't follow.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
I don't know if she's going to be giving orders
they gave said they had several meetings, and the fact
that she look she doesn't need him, he needs her.
And so I got a feeling, at least, let me
let me enjoy this for a minute, Scott, let me
just feel like at least the police department's going to
be in good hands.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
I hope you're right, and I pray that you're right.
But I also think this guy's got a ton of
supporters who aren't interested in the kind of police force
that you're in interested in, and he's going to be
under a huge amount of political pressure from his base
to do what they thought. He said he was going
to do. I hope you're right, and maybe he'll surprise this.
And certainly politicians have surprised me in the past. I
(02:13):
don't think he's going to be one of them, but
maybe he'll be right. In hope Spring's eternal.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Yeah, I'll tell you what, if she's forced to do
anything she doesn't want to do, she's gonna leave. I mean,
she's from a billionaire family, she doesn't she doesn't need
this job, and I believe she's going to run for
mayor somewhere down the line.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Look, I'm fearful for New York City. I'm fearful the Jewish,
fearful for the Jewish population in New York City. But
again I'm gonna I'm gonna choose to hope for the best,
but plan for the worst. I spend a lot of
time here now. I'm from Kentucky, but I'm in New
York all the time. So these things matter to me
more now than they ever have.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Well, congratulations to you on the new book, A revolution
of common sense. I think I can figure out what
you're getting at, But why don't you just explain in.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Case, Well, here's what the deal is. I heard the
President use that phrase in his inaugural address, and I
thought to myself, boy, that'd be a great title for
a book. And it is the perfect way to explain
how he has branded the Republican Party and the conservative
movement since he's come on the scene. And I went
with the President in fact, to Michigan on his hundredth
(03:13):
day in office, and he said something like to the
in his speech. You know, whether you're on the right,
whether you're on the left, or whatever you are, it's
just common sense. That's how he thinks of himself. You know,
he is a conservative, and he operates mostly as a conservative,
but more than that, he just thinks of himself as
someone who's trying to act on common sense and trying
(03:33):
to get to outcomes. And so that's why I wrote
the book, because I think understanding how he thinks of
himself and how he leads is key to understating how
our government currently operates. So it's really more of an
informational or an educational book. If you want to learn
about how Donald Trump leads the government, this book has
the access and the information for you.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Yeah, I agree with you too. I think that he,
like many Americans and especially some young men who were
left out of every conversation when it came to politics
or the last administration. They looked at him and what
he was talking about and just said that made sense.
That's why he won. He won all the swing states
(04:11):
and he won the popular vote because of that, and
he's carrying through with it.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Yeah. Absolutely. Look, let's take a few of the issues
that you know, I called him eighty twenty issues. Maybe
they're ninety ten or ninety five to five, like boys
and girls sports, boys and girls' locker rooms. You know,
the Democrats were dedicated to the idea that we just
had to accept that. That's one of a bunch of
issues where people thought, well, that's not common sense, that's nonsense,
and Trump instinctively knew it, and he comes along and
(04:38):
he latches onto it and says, I'm just I'm just
going to do the common sense thing here. That brought
in to his coalition a bunch of people who did
not think of themselves as Republicans, but they were tired
of being told they had to accept things that they
instinctively knew were nonsense. And so Trump got it. That's
part of his political talent to sort of seize upon
those issues and it really really helped deliver him the
(04:59):
presidency second time.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Yeah, that's one of them. The borders the other one.
What did he do? He closed that on a weekend
after we're told that couldn't be closed, or at least
what we were told it was safe, and then we
were told it was too hard to close.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
We have had effectively zero border crossings in this country
for the last five months. I mean, think about that.
We had hundreds of thousands of people coming in. Now
we have zero. Do you have any laws we've passed
since Donald Trump took office on immigration? Zero? We have
not passed a single new law. We do have a
president who's willing to enforce existing law and tell law
(05:32):
enforcement to execute the laws that are on the books.
That's the only difference. It was an attitude change, and
it was a change in are we going to follow
the law or are we not? He's following the law.
I don't think it's controversial frankly to follow the law.
But the impact has been felt immediately. Zero border crossings.
We're also getting rid of some of these people here
on visas that came here to hate America and foement
(05:55):
anger against America. And the West. I think it's been
his best accomplishment is getting the immigration system under control.
Now we have a lot of internal enforcement left to do,
but closing the border alone has been one of his
biggest achievements.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Absolutely. And I love the name of your book about
common sense because when he stakes a ground in issues
that we just talked about, on issues like we just
talked about that makes so much sense. It forces the
Democrats on the other side of those issues, and they
take debit every single time. Scott.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
One of the dumbest things they do is reflexively oppose
Donald Trump no matter what he does. They never stop
to say, well, wait a minute, would this put us
in a bad position if we oppose this. They do
it every single time. Immigration's a great example. He says, well,
let's close the border, let's not have people coming in,
and let's get criminal, illegal, violent people out of our country.
(06:47):
And what do they do. They send their senators to
El Salvador to try to retrieve a guy who's at
MS thirteen and bring him back to Maryland. The Democrats
cannot help themselves. They oppose him reflexively. It is their ideology.
Leave in nothing except opposing Donald Trump.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
At all costs.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
I think it hurts their party and hurts their brand.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Well, Scott, thanks for spending time with us. We get
a taste of what the book is all about. A
revolution of common sense by Scott Jennings that is worth
the read, and we'll look for you on CNN. Thanks
a lot, Scott, Thanks a lot.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
It's in bookstores today. Get your copy now. You won't
regret it.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
This has been a podcast from wor
This is a podcast from wor Now the wr Saturday
Morning Show. Here's Larry Minty. Welcome to Saturday Morning. On
this week's show, Scott Jennings, the Conservative Lion on CNN,
has a new book out about Donald Trump, called The
Revolution of Common Sense. He's here to talk about it. Scott.
(00:21):
It's great to talk to you again. Thanks for being here.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Hey, I really appreciate this conversation. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Hey. Listen, something just happened in New York today that
is a big deal. You know, zorin Mam. Donnie is
the mayor elect. I've heard you talk about him before.
Everybody was hoping that Jessica Tish was going to stay
on as police commissioner, even though they disagree with each
other on just about every law enforcement policy. We got
(00:47):
the great news today she is staying on. Does that
give you some comfort?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yeah, it doesn't a short term, but I still think
what you said is true. They disagree fundamentally on law enforcement.
Donnie repeatedly over the years make disparaging remarks about law
enforcement and his views on criminal justice in general. He
wants fewer police on the street, but he wants to
empty the prisons. And I just think that's fundamentally at
(01:13):
odds with what most people would think is a right
way to run a criminal justice system. He's also saying
this week he'll have the NYPD or as Prime Minister
net and Yahoo of Israel if he comes to New
York City. So I wonder what will happen when some
of these operational things, you know, after he takes over, happen.
And I hope Tich stays, but I get a feeling
she's going to be given orders that she simply can't follow.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
I don't know if she's going to be giving orders
they gave said they had several meetings, and the fact
that she look she doesn't need him, he needs her.
And so I got a feeling, at least, let me
let me enjoy this for a minute, Scott, let me
just feel like at least the police department's going to
be in good hands.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
I hope you're right, and I pray that you're right.
But I also think this guy's got a ton of
supporters who aren't interested in the kind of police force
that you're in interested in, and he's going to be
under a huge amount of political pressure from his base
to do what they thought. He said he was going
to do. I hope you're right, and maybe he'll surprise this.
And certainly politicians have surprised me in the past. I
(02:13):
don't think he's going to be one of them, but
maybe he'll be right. In hope Spring's eternal.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Yeah, I'll tell you what, if she's forced to do
anything she doesn't want to do, she's gonna leave. I mean,
she's from a billionaire family, she doesn't she doesn't need
this job, and I believe she's going to run for
mayor somewhere down the line.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Look, I'm fearful for New York City. I'm fearful the Jewish,
fearful for the Jewish population in New York City. But
again I'm gonna I'm gonna choose to hope for the best,
but plan for the worst. I spend a lot of
time here now. I'm from Kentucky, but I'm in New
York all the time. So these things matter to me
more now than they ever have.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Well, congratulations to you on the new book, A revolution
of common sense. I think I can figure out what
you're getting at, But why don't you just explain in.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Case, Well, here's what the deal is. I heard the
President use that phrase in his inaugural address, and I
thought to myself, boy, that'd be a great title for
a book. And it is the perfect way to explain
how he has branded the Republican Party and the conservative
movement since he's come on the scene. And I went
with the President in fact, to Michigan on his hundredth
(03:13):
day in office, and he said something like to the
in his speech. You know, whether you're on the right,
whether you're on the left, or whatever you are, it's
just common sense. That's how he thinks of himself. You know,
he is a conservative, and he operates mostly as a conservative,
but more than that, he just thinks of himself as
someone who's trying to act on common sense and trying
(03:33):
to get to outcomes. And so that's why I wrote
the book, because I think understanding how he thinks of
himself and how he leads is key to understating how
our government currently operates. So it's really more of an
informational or an educational book. If you want to learn
about how Donald Trump leads the government, this book has
the access and the information for you.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Yeah, I agree with you too. I think that he,
like many Americans and especially some young men who were
left out of every conversation when it came to politics
or the last administration. They looked at him and what
he was talking about and just said that made sense.
That's why he won. He won all the swing states
(04:11):
and he won the popular vote because of that, and
he's carrying through with it.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Yeah. Absolutely. Look, let's take a few of the issues
that you know, I called him eighty twenty issues. Maybe
they're ninety ten or ninety five to five, like boys
and girls sports, boys and girls' locker rooms. You know,
the Democrats were dedicated to the idea that we just
had to accept that. That's one of a bunch of
issues where people thought, well, that's not common sense, that's nonsense,
and Trump instinctively knew it, and he comes along and
(04:38):
he latches onto it and says, I'm just I'm just
going to do the common sense thing here. That brought
in to his coalition a bunch of people who did
not think of themselves as Republicans, but they were tired
of being told they had to accept things that they
instinctively knew were nonsense. And so Trump got it. That's
part of his political talent to sort of seize upon
those issues and it really really helped deliver him the
(04:59):
presidency second time.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Yeah, that's one of them. The borders the other one.
What did he do? He closed that on a weekend
after we're told that couldn't be closed, or at least
what we were told it was safe, and then we
were told it was too hard to close.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
We have had effectively zero border crossings in this country
for the last five months. I mean, think about that.
We had hundreds of thousands of people coming in. Now
we have zero. Do you have any laws we've passed
since Donald Trump took office on immigration? Zero? We have
not passed a single new law. We do have a
president who's willing to enforce existing law and tell law
(05:32):
enforcement to execute the laws that are on the books.
That's the only difference. It was an attitude change, and
it was a change in are we going to follow
the law or are we not? He's following the law.
I don't think it's controversial frankly to follow the law.
But the impact has been felt immediately. Zero border crossings.
We're also getting rid of some of these people here
on visas that came here to hate America and foement
(05:55):
anger against America. And the West. I think it's been
his best accomplishment is getting the immigration system under control.
Now we have a lot of internal enforcement left to do,
but closing the border alone has been one of his
biggest achievements.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Absolutely. And I love the name of your book about
common sense because when he stakes a ground in issues
that we just talked about, on issues like we just
talked about that makes so much sense. It forces the
Democrats on the other side of those issues, and they
take debit every single time. Scott.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
One of the dumbest things they do is reflexively oppose
Donald Trump no matter what he does. They never stop
to say, well, wait a minute, would this put us
in a bad position if we oppose this. They do
it every single time. Immigration's a great example. He says, well,
let's close the border, let's not have people coming in,
and let's get criminal, illegal, violent people out of our country.
(06:47):
And what do they do. They send their senators to
El Salvador to try to retrieve a guy who's at
MS thirteen and bring him back to Maryland. The Democrats
cannot help themselves. They oppose him reflexively. It is their ideology.
Leave in nothing except opposing Donald Trump.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
At all costs.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
I think it hurts their party and hurts their brand.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Well, Scott, thanks for spending time with us. We get
a taste of what the book is all about. A
revolution of common sense by Scott Jennings that is worth
the read, and we'll look for you on CNN. Thanks
a lot, Scott, Thanks a lot.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
It's in bookstores today. Get your copy now. You won't
regret it.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
This has been a podcast from wor
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