Scott Jennings shreds legacy media's press pool freak-out with hard facts

CNN political commentator Scott Jennings shredded legacy media's freak-out over the Trump administration's decision to shake up the press pool.

Critics of President Donald Trump have accused him of acting like a dictator by limiting event access for corporate outlets in exchange for providing more access to new media channels, including Blaze Media.

'Trump is being far more transparent than any recent administration.'

During a Tuesday episode of "CNN NewsNight," Jennings set the record straight about the Trump administration's transparency compared to former President Joe Biden.

Xochitl Hinojosa, a Democratic National Committee spokesperson, accused Trump of revoking White House access for "individual reporters" as well as entire media outlets.

"When Trump doesn't like a question, he doesn't like a story in the New York Times, he doesn't like anything that someone says about him, he can ban those individuals," Hinojosa said. "That's something a dictator would do."

"That is something that is scary," she added. "He's trying to filter the news to the American people."

Host Abby Phillip responded by reading an X post from Peter Baker, a chief White House correspondent for the New York Times.

"Having served as a Moscow correspondent in the early days of Putin's reign, this reminds me of how the Kremlin took over its own press pool and made sure that only compliant journalists were given access," Baker wrote.

"OK, can we just address this dictator business," Jennings jumped into the conversation.

Jennings referred to a statistic from Chris Cillizza, a political commentator who previously worked at CNN.

"Our old friend Chris Cillizza, who calculated that in the first month of the Trump administration, the president took 1,009 questions," he continued. "Hardly dictatorial behavior."

"Same stat for Joe Biden: 141," Jennings noted. "And I would remind you all that in 2023, the Biden administration revoked the hard passes of 442 journalists. And at the time, the White House Correspondents Association took, quote, 'a noncommittal stance.' So if you're worried about transparency, Trump is being far more transparent than any recent administration."

In May 2023, Biden revoked hundreds of journalists' press passes. Upon taking office, the Trump administration restored the media credentials for those reporters.

A report from the New York Post stated that during the first 31 days of his first term, President Barack Obama took 161 questions.

Further, the outlet noted that under the Trump administration, reporters often ask four or five questions apiece during each event.

Anything else?

Fox News Digital reported Wednesday that Jennings is being encouraged to run for Senate in 2026 to replace Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell (R).

Jennings did not respond to a request for comment from the news outlet.

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