The mainstream media has never been one for calm and factual reporting. Now they’ve gone off the deep end.
And now a CNN panel erupted into chaos after hearing this one word.
CNN’s Scott Jennings pushed back hard against a CNN panel attempting to paint President Trump as a “dictator,” pointing to data showing that Trump has been far more transparent with the press than Joe Biden or other modern presidents.
During a heated exchange on “CNN Newsnight” Tuesday, Jennings clashed with former DNC spokesperson Xochitl Hinojosa and host Abby Phillip over claims that Trump’s handling of the press was authoritarian. Jennings quickly dismantled the narrative by citing a post from former CNN journalist Chris Cillizza, which revealed Trump had taken over 1,009 questions from the media in the first month of his new administration.
“Our old friend Chris Cillizza, who calculated that in the first month of the Trump Administration, the president took 1,009 questions. Hardly dictatorial behavior,” Jennings fired back.
Jennings’ fact-check came after Hinojosa accused Trump of trying to silence critical 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 claimed. “That’s something a dictator would do. That is something that is scary frankly.”
Phillip jumped in to reinforce Hinojosa’s point, reading a post from New York Times reporter Peter Baker, who likened Trump’s press management to Kremlin-style media control.
Jennings wasn’t buying it.
He pointed out that not only has Trump faced the press more than any recent president, but the Biden administration—which the media rarely criticizes—has done far more to restrict press access.
“Same stat for Joe Biden: 141,” Jennings said, referring to the far lower number of questions Biden took during his first month.
He then dropped another bombshell:
“And I would remind you all that in 2023, the Biden Administration revoked the hard passes of 442 journalists.”
Phillip tried to soften the blow by claiming many of those journalists lost their passes because they failed to attend press events regularly. Jennings didn’t let her spin the facts.
“I don’t know. They lost their access. They lost their access. 442,” he shot back, refusing to let the Biden-friendly excuse go unchallenged.
The Biden White House’s crackdown on journalists went largely ignored by mainstream media outlets, while any perceived slight from Trump draws hysterical accusations of “dictatorship.”
The reality remains clear: Trump—despite relentless media attacks—has been more open to press scrutiny than Biden, whose handlers routinely shield him from tough questions.
As Jennings’ takedown demonstrated, the real threat to press freedom isn’t coming from Trump—it’s coming from the very people accusing him of being a dictator.
TRUTH BOMBARDMENT al la mass 💣💣💣💣💣
Scott Jennings snaps back at CNN panel, says report shows Trump's actions are 'hardly dictatorial behavior' pic.twitter.com/QrwH6tq1Dl
— Dante Rossi (@tvc1five) February 26, 2025
