Scott Jennings delivered a blunt critique of California’s Democratic leadership during a CNN panel, according to a clip shared on X by RedWave Press and highlighted by the Gateway Pundit.
What the clip shows
RedWave Press posted a video on October 1, 2026, framing it as Jennings reacting on CNN to a California governor debate between Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton. In a partial transcript attributed to RedWave Press, Jennings said, “Democrats are running the state. The state kind of sucks.”
In the same transcript, Jennings added: “California’s one of the rare sort of political experiments in America where the experiment in the lab has been running for so long, there’s no real mystery in how it’s going to turn out.” He continued, “Democrats have been in charge for a very long time, and if Xavier Becerra wins, you know exactly what he’s going to do. He’s going to do precisely what Democrats have been doing.”
According to the excerpt, Jennings argued that if voters are “happy with homelessness,” “the cost of living,” “the taxes,” and a “shadow welfare system that pays illegal aliens hundreds of thousands of dollars a year,” they would “get” the same policies. He contrasted that with Steve Hilton, saying, “If you want to do something different, Steve Hilton presented that tonight,” while adding, “I don’t know if any minds were changed.”
How it’s being framed
The Gateway Pundit characterizes Jennings as “the lone conservative voice” on CNN and asserts that California has been run by Democrats for years, linking the state’s conditions to one-party control. The site also argues that Democrats don’t want to lose California, suggesting it could complicate any presidential case for Gavin Newsom. These are the outlet’s interpretations and opinions.
What we know—and don’t
The clip and transcript are attributed to RedWave Press; we have not independently verified the full CNN segment, the debate details, or the broader context around the comments. The statement about a “shadow welfare system” is presented here as Jennings’ claim in the shared clip; it has not been substantiated by this publication.
