Scott Jennings
Role at the time: CNN senior political commentator, on CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt
Statement summary
On CNN, commentator Scott Jennings said the text messages reported by the Journal were extremely unseemly and had to be investigated, though they might not be illegal, and said Guilfoyle should consider what to tell Trump and Rubio about her future.
“it's extremely unseemly, these text messages. There's no other way to read it. Again, may not be illegal. Has to be investigated. ... But if I were in her shoes right now, I would be considering what I wanted to tell the president, the secretary of state about my future because When you're in an appointed position like this and you hold a position of trust with the government, and then you become a distraction or an embarrassment to your principals, that's a problem.”
CNN transcript of The Arena with Kasie Hunt, aired 4 to 5 p.m. ET on October 8, 2026, which opened with a panel discussion of the Journal report on Guilfoyle and Deters.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The reference point is Eric Deters's allegation that Kimberly Guilfoyle, shortly before her July 2025 Senate confirmation hearing, asked him to pay her $100,000 American Express bill while offering to help him reach senior Trump administration officials. Condemned: Jennings calls the messages "extremely unseemly" and says "There's no other way to read it." The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional; it loses because his remark that the conduct "may not be illegal" and needs investigation concerns legality and process, not his negative judgment of the messages.