It's pretty weird when CNN provides a platform for someone to speak positiviely about a Republican candidate. But CNN This Morning gave its political commentator Scott Jennings an unfettered five minutes to sing the praises of Tim Scott. The Republican senator from South Carolina has announced that he will be creating a presidential exploratory committee—a prelude to formally throwing his hat into the ring.
With no pushback from the hosts, Jennings offered a wide array of upbeat comments about Scott. For example:
He's one of the most well-liked and beloved Republicans in the country. I mean, everywhere he speaks, everywhere he goes, people love what Tim Scott has to say and what he represents.
Jennings admitted Scott starts that race at about one percent, but "if you look at people who have just raw political and communication skills, he's going to have one of the highest and most developed skill sets in the race. So it does give him a chance to break out."
You know CNN is going softer than average when they asked Jennings about Sen. Scott's life story, recalling his family has gone from "cotton to Congress," which easily recalls Washington Post "Fact Checker" Glenn Kessler spending a great deal of time trying to put a dent in Scott's story, that he was overplaying his family's rise from obscurity. Jennings said Scott's optimistic story about America can work:
Look, I think you put this guy in front of a crowd, in Iowa or New Hampshire, obviously in South Carolina, where he's been elected. He's going to be electric. I mean, he is a, he is one of the best, if not the best communicator in the Republican party today. So, putting the optimism together with the fighting spirit could be a combination for him to make some hay.
But will positive buzz on CNN be a benefit to Scott? Team Trump will try to argue that anyone who's beloved by the Mitch McConnell establishment (which Jennings represents) is a RINO. That's wrong. Scott's lifetime Heritage Action conservative rating is higher than that of the average Republican senator.
As Jennings suggested, the base wants a brawler, and Scott will have to prove he's capable of being that too, in addition to being a very optimistic person. Jennings repeatedly spoke of Scott's need to demonstrate a "fighting spirit." Look for Scott to become a Modelo celebrity endorser?
And in what hopefully won't be the kiss of death, Don Lemon ended the segment by saying of him, "It's good that he's in there."
On CNN This Morning, Scott Jennings singing the praises of Tim Scott was sponsored in part by Stanley Steemer, Ensure, and Best Western.
Here's the transcript.
CNN This Morning
4/12/23
6:21 am EDTTIM SCOTT: We need mature leadership. That's right. At the time of crisis. We need folks who are not focusing on each other, ourselves as leaders, but people who are focusing on the problem, and who it affects the most. And that's never the leader.
KAITLAN COLLINS: That's South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, Republican, who did that interview last week, but reposted the clip on Twitter just hours before he announced that he plans to launch an exploratory committee for president.
. . .
Scott, obviously, this is not a huge surprise to people, but this would be the next formal step for Senator Scott to take. Is their room for him in this 2024 race? What is, what does that look like for him, do you think?
SCOTT JENNINGS: Well, I certainly think there's room for Tim Scott. He's one of the most well-liked and beloved Republicans in the country. I mean, everywhere he speaks, everywhere he goes, people love what Tim Scott has to say and what he represents.
He'll be, probably, the most optimistic person in the race. You know, he always presents the Republican party, the GOP, as the Grand Opportunity Party. He talks about America in optimistic terms, which, of course, as you know, is a big departure from how Donald Trump and others describe America.
So he's a, he's gonna have a different kind of marketing style, which is relentlessly optimistic. Now, just to be fair, on the technical side, he starts very low, probably at 1%, just like a lot of the other people who are looking to challenge Donald Trump. So he's got a long way to go. But if you look at people who have just raw political and communication skills, he's going to have one of the highest and most developed skill sets in the race. So it does give him a chance to break out.
. . .
POPPY HARLOW: One of the things I think is so striking. You just sort of mentioned it. Is that you've called him relentlessly positive and optimistic, obviously a huge contrast to Trump, who he'll be running against in the primary.
But his family story, the line he often repeats, from cotton to congress in one generation, is positive and optimistic. And a family story like that: what you think Republican primary voters are looking for?
JENNINGS: I think they will really like the story. I think they have liked that story about Tim Scott and I think he's, he's gone a long way on it.
I do think in the current Republican party emotional frame, you also have to show a little bit of fighting spirit. And so he has to marry that optimism with the ability to say, I will fight to protect, you know, what I see as, you know, a better future for America.
I mean, Republicans are looking for fighters. They're looking for confrontation. They're looking for people who want to fight the left right now. I mean, that's why you see so many of the other campaigns really, sort of, on the same messages almost every day.
So, I think as long as he can also show that, this story is gonna sell. Look, I think you put this guy in front of a crowd, in Iowa or New Hampshire, obviously in South Carolina, where he's been elected. He's going to be electric. I mean, he is a, he is one of the best, if not the best communicator in the Republican party today.
So, putting the optimism together with the fighting spirit could be a combination for him to make some hay.. . .
So this is where Tim Scott is, starts: pretty low, but with a lot of skills, and I think Republicans are going to love him out there, and I'm glad he's in the race because I think we need more optimists in politics. He is one of the most optimistic people. His life story is terrific, and it's inspiring to a lot of folks. Whether he wins or loses, he's an inspiring guy. We need people like Tim Scott in politics.
DON LEMON: And it's good that he's in there.
