‘Kicked their asses’: Scott Jennings says Dems’ strategy for Hegseth hearing totally blew up in their faces

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.

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“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.”

“I mean, Tim Kaine sounded like a sex pervert in his questioning of Pete Hegseth. [Connecticut Sen. Richard] Blumenthal, who lied about his service in Vietnam, questioning Hegseth’s qualifications. You had [New York Sen. Kirsten] Gillibrand, you had [Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth] Warren, you had [Hawaii Sen. Mazie] Hirono going on unhinged rants about things,” he continued. “[Maine Sen.] Angus King obviously doesn’t understand what it’s like to fight terrorism. On and on and on. Hegseth was cool in the face of this unhinged questioning. They made him look good today. It would be difficult for a Republican to vote against Hegseth after the Democrats’ unseemly mudslinging today.”

Moreover, Democratic Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth screamed at Hegseth at the hearing as he attempted to answer her question about auditing.

“Have you led an audit of any organization, yes or no? I don’t want a long answer. Yes or no, have you led an audit of any organization of which you were in charge?” Duckworth asked.

“Senator, in both of the organizations I ran, we were always completely fiscally responsible with the money that we had,” Hegseth responded.

The defense secretary nominee added that his organizational leadership has been “completely mischaracterized,” but Duckworth yelled over him as he continued talking.

“Yes or no, did you lead an audit? Yes or no, did you lead an audit? Yes or no? What are you afraid of?” the senator asked. “You can’t answer this question? Yes or no, did you lead an audit? Do you not know this answer?”

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