Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

CNN Panel Goes Off The Rails After Scott Jennings Calls Daniel Penny One Of The ‘Good Guys’

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A panel on CNN went haywire Monday night after Republican strategist Scott Jennings criticized “the left” for not understanding that Marine veteran Daniel Penny was one of the “good guys.”

A Manhattan jury found Penny not guilty on charges of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, 30, who died after being restrained by the ex-Marine who was riding the New York City subway after a judge dismissed a manslaughter charge against Penny. Jennings questioned how liberals “can‘t seem to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys.”

“Yeah, let me let me just help you understand. If you‘re on the American left tonight, here‘s my chart. The good guys today: Daniel Penny. The bad guys: Luigi Mangione. It seems to me —” Jennings said before “CNN Newsnight guest host Audie Cornish interrupted asking, “How do you — what’s the chart for victims?”

“I‘m just — I‘m just telling you what I see out in the world,” Jennings responded, as Cornish continued hounding him, saying, “I know. I know. I just want you to finish the chart. So the victim, which victim is good and which victim is bad?”

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Police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, arrested Luigi Mangione Monday following a five-day manhunt after United Health Group CEO Brian Thompson was killed in a Dec. 4 shooting just outside a Manhattan hotel while en route to a conference. Jennings noted that “people on the left” praised the killing of Thompson.

“People on the left — people on the left can‘t seem to — can‘t seem to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys,” Jennings said, with Cornish responding, “I’m not asking you about people on the left. I‘m asking you whether you consider this person —”

“We had people praising Luigi and attacking Penny!” Jennings snapped at Cornish.

Cornish later noted that Republican Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona is seeking to award Penny a Congressional Gold Medal for his actions.

“I want to know whether you think that, as Congressman Crane does, that Daniel Penny should get the Congressional Gold Medal to recognize his heroism? I’m not asking you about anyone,” Cornish said, with Jennings responding, “I think he ought to get medal. I think you ought to build a statue to this guy in New York City.”

“And I’m gonna say it, I’m gonna say the dreaded r-word. Race plays a role in this. Right? And so we see it —” panelist Solomon Jones claimed, prompting Jennings to cut in and ask, “Does it?”

Jones claimed that people who killed whites often receive harsher sentences, prompting Jennings to raise the question of another violent incident on the New York City subways.

“What about the Jordan Williams case?” Jennings asked, referencing a man who stabbed an ex-convict on the New York City subway in a June 13, 2023, incident, with comes claiming, ““That is what happens in our criminal justice system.”

After another panelist demanded Jennings stop, Jones said he would not stop, insisting race played a role in the verdict.

“I didn’t ask you to stop. I said, what about the Jordan Williams case here in New York?” Jennings said. “Same situation, African American gets on a subway, ends up killing a guy, grand jury tosses it out at the exact same time as the Penny case.”