Republican strategist Scott Jennings clashed with CNN International host Richard Quest on Wednesday night, calling out his previous doom-and-gloom predictions about President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Jennings reminded Quest of his comments back in April, when the host warned Trump’s tariffs would trigger a global recession. “I would like to build a DeLorean and go back to April,” Jennings joked, referencing Back to the Future. “You said it would lead to a recession.”
Quest pushed back, but Jennings kept pressing. “You took your shoe off on air and said there would be a recession,” he said. “You brought cookies too!”
Trump announced the reciprocal tariffs in April to address what he called “horrendous imbalances” in global trade. Critics like Quest said they’d tank the economy.
But since then, the opposite has happened: Trump has inked new trade deals with the European Union and Japan, and GDP grew at a solid 3% annual rate in Q2 of 2025.
“You called the recession,” Jennings told Quest, who shot back, “It’s too early to judge!”
Jennings didn’t budge. “3% GDP. Trade deals. Stock market at a record high. Cooling inflation. That’s the data,” he said. Quest interrupted again: “These trade deals are garbage!”
“Oh, brother,” Jennings responded, shaking his head.
Economist Steve Moore echoed Jennings’ optimism, calling the current economy “cooking” during a Wednesday appearance on The Charlie Kirk Show. “Trump is just hitting it out of the park,” Moore said.