CNN contributor Scott Jennings says President Donald Trump “deserved” to win the Nobel Peace Prize, and during a discussion Friday on “The Arena with Kasie Hunt,” he lashed out at fellow panelist Jamal Simmons for providing a counterargument.
Trump has spent months lobbying for the prize (or five), saying he has ended several global conflicts over the course of his second term. His campaign was ultimately for naught, as nominations this year concluded shortly after he took office.
The Nobel Committee on Friday awarded María Corina Machado, a Venezuelan politician who led the pro-democracy movement in her country last year. This prompted frustration from MAGA loyalists and seeming deflation from Trump, which Simmons criticized on CNN.
“Donald Trump is the most politically powerful president of my lifetime, and yet he plays the victim,” he told the panel. “It’s just not a good look. I wish he would just sort of grow into the role a little bit. And I’ll tell you, I’m not a Democrat who roots for Donald Trump’s failure.”
“I root for him to be fair, right?” Simmons continued. “And I think what’s killing him on the … Nobel Prize in the end is going to be on one hand, you’re going to have things like what’s happening in the Middle East. On the other hand, you’ve got troops on the streets.”
Simmons, who served as communications director for former Vice President Kamala Harris, went on to cite the assault of a Chicago pastor — who was shot in the head with a pepper-spray ball by immigration agents last month — as another reason for his mixed feelings.
“You’ve got all this disarray happening at home, and it’s so hard for people who want to root for American success to root for Donald Trump, because Donald Trump is doing both of these things at the same time,” Simmons continued Friday.
Jennings responded, telling Simmons, “I agree with everything you just said — it’s hard for Democrats to root for America’s success, because they’re so broken by Donald Trump. This is the core problem of the Democratic Party … you cannot bring yourself to root for America because Donald Trump is the president.”
Simmons — who had praised Trump moments earlier for his involvement in the Israel-Palestine peace deal — took umbrage.
“It’s not fair, Scott,” he said. “That’s not what I said. It’s precisely the opposite.”
Jennings barreled ahead, launching into a diatribe about Trump deserving the peace prize, citing his controversial military strikes on Iran, “eight other peace agreements,” and the president’s role in mediating the 2020 Abraham Accords.
The conservative commentator didn’t end there, ultimately admitting, “I hope he does get it, because at the end of the day, it will piss off all the right people. And I just, I would be so happy. I would be so happy.”