CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings said Democratic senators’ “mudslinging” strategy backfired at President-elect Donald Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth’s Tuesday confirmation hearing.
The hearing included Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine accusing Hegseth of infidelity and Democratic New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand lecturing the nominee for eight minutes about women serving in the military. Jennings, on “CNN News Central,” praised Hegseth’s composure, describing him as “calm, cool, and collected” while asserting the Democratic senators’ behavior likely bolstered Hegseth’s confirmation chances.
“In short, I think Pete Hegseth kicked their asses today. I mean, it wasn’t even close. They didn’t lay a glove on Hegseth. No mistakes. Calm, cool, collected. I mean, before the thing even started, you had this, like, Code Pink, you know, protester freak show trying to disrupt the hearing,” Jennings said. “That’s the Democratic base, by the way, which probably explains why the Democrats on the committee acted in such a bizarre and unprofessional way. I was appalled at some of the way these senators handled themselves and some of the lines of questioning.”