Scott Jennings appears on air as reporting undercutting a viral tweet he posted is shown on screen alongside him. (Screen grab via Snapstream/CNN)
On Sunday evening, CNN published a report pouring cold water on a claim anonymously peddled by the Trump administration that had ricocheted across MAGA Media. The story revealed that, in closed-door briefings with congressional staff, Pentagon officials acknowledged that Iran was not planning to launch an unprovoked strike on U.S. forces in the Middle East.
The reporting must have made for uncomfortable reading for CNN’s resident MAGA pundit, Scott Jennings. Earlier in the weekend, Jennings blasted the claim out to his nearly one million followers on X, asserting that senior Trump administration officials had told him “that credible intelligence indicated Iran planned preemptive missile strikes against US military targets in the region, and against civilian targets as well.” In Jennings’ own telling, “Failure to act would’ve resulted in mass US casualties.” His post was shared more than 13,000 times and racked up over five million views, according to the platform’s analytics.
Behind the scenes, Status has learned that the episode did not sit well with many of CNN’s actual journalists. Jennings, who often cosplays as a reporter while wrapping himself in the CNN banner, is a paid talking head, not a reporter. According to multiple people familiar with the matter…
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Donald Trump attends the Kennedy Center awards ceremony. (Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
Celebrating the Censor: The White House Correspondents’ Association is facing criticism after Donald Trump said he would attend this year's annual dinner where the organization offered to welcome him as an "honoree." In a Truth Social post, Trump stunned many when he announced, "In honor of our Nation’s 250th Birthday, and the fact that these 'Correspondents' now admit that I am truly one of the Greatest Presidents in the History of our Country, the G.O.A.T., according to many, it will be my Honor to accept their invitation, and work to make it the GREATEST, HOTTEST, and MOST SPECTACULAR DINNER, OF ANY KIND, EVER!" In a statement of her own, WHCA President Weijia Jiang said, "We're happy the president has accepted our invitation and look forward to hosting him."
Suffice to say, coaxing the president into attending by designating him as some sort of "honoree" is sure not to sit well with many members…
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