Julie Roginsky Slams Scott Jennings and CNN, Labels Strategist 'Chickens**t' After Heated On-Air Clash

Democratic political operative Julie Roginsky publicly criticized Republican strategist Scott Jennings and CNN after a tense on-air exchange she says featured repeated interruptions and selective social-posting. The confrontation on CNN Newsroom spilled onto X (formerly Twitter) and culminated in a lengthy, scathing Substack post on Roginsky's Salty Politics newsletter.

What Happened On Air

On Sunday evening, Roginsky and Jennings sparred during a segment on CNN Newsroom. Roginsky says Jennings repeatedly talked over her as she tried to make a point about the Jan. 6 riots. After a short clip of the clash appeared on social media, the disagreement continued online.

Roginsky responded on X: 'Careful, @ScottJennings... no matter how much you want to emulate Orange Daddy, he hasn’t forgotten that you worked for Mitch McConnell. No amount of self-abasement is going to make you the WH press secretary or the next senator from Kentucky.'

Substack Takedown

Hours later Roginsky published a long post on Salty Politics criticizing both Jennings and CNN. She said she expected the piece might cost her future CNN bookings but argued she had to call out what she described as falling standards at the network. Roginsky wrote that CNN "once sold itself as the grown-up in the room," and that its continued reliance on Jennings is "not just baffling, but corrosive to its brand."

Roginsky—who previously was a Fox News contributor and a plaintiff in litigation involving Roger Ailes—made clear she was not attacking Jennings for being a Republican. Rather, she criticized his behavior: she said he 'does not debate; he blathers,' routinely talks over women, and treats panels as 'contests of volume and obstinacy.' She also accused him of selectively posting edited clips on social media to score points.

Scott Jennings' bluster is a frequent feature of CNN programming. / screen grab

Accusations About Panel Culture

Roginsky alleged a wider pattern off-camera: several women who publicly embarrassed Jennings on panels believe they stopped getting invited back. 'Whether this is true or not,' she wrote, 'enough women have seen a pattern that they believe it.' She argued that CNN's incentives appear to reward provocation over decorum and accuracy, sending the message that 'if you are loud enough, management will treat you as indispensable.'

The piece criticized what Roginsky framed as a broader media trend driven by the Trump era, where sensationalism and confrontation are prioritized over restraint. 'Keeping him on,' she wrote, 'is not neutrality. It is a choice.'

Earlier Exchanges And Responses

The Daily Beast previously reported that Jennings interrupted Roginsky during a separate exchange about the Jan. 6 riots, prompting CNN NewsNight host Abby Phillip to step in and ask Jennings to allow Roginsky to speak. During an August segment Jennings snapped, 'If she wants to come out here and take potshots at me, I'm not going to allow it! It's a stupid argument, and I'm not going to allow it.' Roginsky shot back, 'I know you're thirsty for that Senate seat, but let me finish,' referencing reported interest in a Kentucky Senate seat tied to Mitch McConnell.

After the most recent clash Jennings retweeted an X post claiming he had 'obliterated' the 'irrelevant' Roginsky. In her Substack post Roginsky called him 'too chickens**t to post the whole segment that would expose the truth.' She later shared the newsletter on X and noted the criticism was going viral.

Why It Matters

Roginsky warned that eroding audience trust is difficult to recover and that networks must weigh whether booking commentators who thrive on confrontation serves their credibility. The Daily Beast has reached out to CNN for comment.