Republican strategist Scott Jennings clashed with former Kamala Harris spokeswoman Adrienne Elrod on CNN Thursday night, accusing her of living in “a fantasy” over Trump’s support.
The argument came during CNN NewsNight as they discussed criticism of President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi over the Epstein files. Elrod claimed Trump was losing support.
Jennings wasn’t having it. “Since the Epstein business started, his job approval among Republicans has gone up,” he said. “He’s over 90 percent. It’s not hurting him with his base.”
He fired back at Elrod’s suggestion that large parts of Trump’s base were frustrated. “This is a fantasy Democrats have been engaging in since January — that Republicans would abandon Trump. It’s not happening.”
CNN data reporter Harry Enten backed up Jennings with polling. “You might think his approval ratings were going down… If anything, they’re going up.”
Enten noted Trump’s Republican approval went from 86% to 88% in CNN’s polls, and from 87% to 90% in Quinnipiac’s. “He is at the apex or close there, too,” Enten said.
Meanwhile, Trump has notched several big wins. He signed a bill on July 4 making his 2017 tax cuts permanent, and secured Supreme Court victories on immigration and federal bureaucracy rollbacks.
He also ordered airstrikes on June 22 against Iran’s nuclear sites, using seven B-2A bombers and GBU-57 bunker busters in a 37-hour mission targeting Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
And on Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he directed Bondi to seek court approval to release grand jury transcripts from the Epstein case. Bondi confirmed DOJ would file to unseal them Friday.