CNN Republican Scott Jennings launched a scathing indictment of Jimmy Carter a day after the Democratic former president’s death at the age of 100.
On a panel moderated by host Abby Phillip, Jennings excoriated Carter over what he portrayed as post-presidency meddling in the Middle East, which he even compared to “anti-Semitism.”
“Let me preface my position by offering my condolences to the Carter family on his death,” the senior political commentator began on CNN News Night.
“He was clearly one of the most unique post-presidents we’ve ever had because he lived so long and did so much. That said, he was a terrible president,” Jennings stated.
“That’s why he lost a landslide after his one term,” Jennings added, referring to how voters disillusioned with inflation overwhelmingly voted for Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980.
“If it’s possible, I think he was an even worse ex-president.”
The condemnation continued from there, despite many calling Carter’s work productive after his presidency.
Jennings, a political strategist and pundit, labeled it “interference” before listing the reasons for his very public rejection of the Democrat, who turned 100 years old.
CNN’s Scott Jennings began Monday — a day after the politician’s death — with a merciless indictment of the late Jimmy Carter
The Republican attacked Carter for what he painted as meddling in the Middle East and Asia after his presidency and denounced his support for Palestine. Carter is known for mediating a famous peace treaty between Israel and Egypt in 1979, seen here
Carter has been a staunch critic of Israel’s post-October 7 campaign in Gaza, and has been in court with figures such as Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and members of Hamas in hopes of diplomacy.
“Saddling dictators around the world… his vehement views, anti-Israel views and more than just engaging in anti-Semitism over the years,” he stated.
He may also have averted a war between the United States and North Korea in 1994 – thanks to a diplomatic visit to then-leader Kim Ill Sung after the country announced it would kick out international nuclear inspectors.
The Nobel laureate called his talks with the communist leader a “miracle” after he showed up in Seoul two days later to announce that the “crisis was over.”
The move, however, angered the Clinton White House because Carter made the trip as a private citizen.
Jennings, 47, sharpened this point Monday, accusing Carter of “saddled himself with dictators.”
The former adviser to George W. Bush and Mitch McConnell went on to note how Carter’s notorious stubbornness — and meticulous, singular approach to politics — “often irritated Democrats.”
“Obama didn’t even let him speak at his ’08 convention,” he said, before turning to the successful if one-sided diplomacy trip he made to the Hermit Kingdom more than two decades before Donald Trump set foot on North Korea soil.
In this June 16, 1994 file photo provided by the North Korean government, then-North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, center, poses with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, third from left
Carter is seen here with then-head of the Hamas government Ismail Haniyeh (far right) during a diplomatic visit to the Gaza Strip in 2009. Jennings framed trips as Carter’s “saddle up against dictators” and “borderline anti-Semitism”
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, left, embraces Carter as former Irish President Mary Robinson, right, looks on during another diplomatic trip to Damascus, Syria, in 2010, after meeting with then-Syrian dictator Bashar Assad
“(It) put Bill Clinton in a terrible foreign policy framework when it came to a nuclear issue in North Korea,” Jennings said.
“I think he was a man with a huge ego and believed he was uniquely positioned to do all these things,” he continued, adding that he was convinced Carter took such action after “the U.S. people had roundly and thoroughly rejected his leadership. ‘
“So I respect people who run for president and are elected president, but in his particular case, I think he has proven time and time again why he was never fit for office in the first place,” the conservative commentator concluded.
Host Abby Phillip — who publicly admitted this month during an appearance at the Harvard Kennedy School of Business’s Institute of Politics that the Democratic Party’s problems are “not as simple as wokeness” — somehow didn’t weigh in the scale.
However, viewers quickly called out Jennings online for his Carter comments, with many portraying them as being in poor taste.
“Come on, Jennings. This is NOT OK,” someone tweeted shortly afterwards. ‘Trump hasn’t been meddlesome? Trump has not supported anti-American dictators as president. & after? (Get) real!’
Jennings, meanwhile, responded to the rejections on his personal X account the next morning and doubled down on his stance.
“My thoughts on Jimmy Carter’s legacy last night on @cnn: Terrible president, resolutely rejected by the American people,” he wrote in a post that has quickly amassed more than half a million views.
The newsperson went on to note how Carter’s notorious stubbornness — and meticulous, singular approach to politics — “often irritated Democrats,” as he explained his reasoning to host Abby Phillip.
“Worse, the ex-president, whose interference in US foreign policy and his virulent anti-Israel/anti-Semitic views should not be forgotten,” he continued.
‘Repeatedly undermined American interests.’
Carter announced his trip to North Korea with a letter — which was quickly made public — to then-President Bill Clinton, outlining his plans to meet with Sung as a private citizen.
Clinton reluctantly agreed, although some say Carter, a famously maverick figure, forced his hand on the display.
In 2006, Carter described his distaste for Israel’s handling of the Gaza conflict in the book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.
The book arrived in the midst of what was perhaps the most impactful post-presidency of any former president, beginning with the founding of the nongovernmental Carter Center in 1983.
The organization still exists and has been helping to address diplomatic and humanitarian issues for more than forty years.
Carter led more than 100 trips to dozens of countries to participate in peace talks bbetween the center’s founding and 2015.
Carter led more than 100 trips to dozens of countries to participate in peace talks between the center’s founding and 2015, the year he was diagnosed with cancer
Carter — one of only four presidents to receive the Nobel Peace Prize — died Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia
In a statement, Donald Trump said the former president “did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans.”
His post-presidential career was cut short by a cancer diagnosis in August of that year. He died Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia.
In a statement, Donald Trump appeared to disagree with Jennings, saying the former president “did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans.”
“We all owe him a debt of gratitude for that,” he said.