The more liberals are stacked against Scott Jennings, the better he does. Always outnumbered, Mr. Jennings is like the Army of Northern Virginia at Chancellorsville—he’s always outmaneuvering the opposition. When Jennings headed into The Arena with Kasie Hunt, the reconciliation package and the Medicaid tweaks were a topic of discussion, where Jennings hit on how Democrats are once again overplaying their hand.
They will argue Republicans are cutting Medicaid, whereas the GOP, if they play it right, can trap Democrats into defending illegal aliens and lazy people soaking up Medicaid benefits. The system was never meant to cover this many people, and it’s overwhelmed. The only Republican who seems queasy about this counterpoint is Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC).
The Republican ethos is encouraging hard work. The Democratic ethos is encouraging government dependence.
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) July 9, 2025
That’s really what’s at the heart of this Medicaid reform debate 👇 pic.twitter.com/G4ijpJvTpD
Scott Jennings didn’t wait for introductions before lighting a fuse on CNN’s panel.
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) July 9, 2025
He went directly after Senator Thom Tillis, dismissing his criticism of the GOP’s Big Beautiful Bill as not just wrong, but politically clueless.
“I think he's wrong,” Jennings said without… pic.twitter.com/dZEnfWZK0t
Axios’ Alex Thompson had a ‘this is where I screwed up’ moment trying to trap Jennings on why the Medicaid adjustments don’t kick in until after the 2026 midterms. Jennings noted that these aren’t minor changes; states run Medicaid and should be given ample time to prepare for the changes.
Thompson was likely thinking about how he should have played that differently....
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) July 9, 2025
Ouch. pic.twitter.com/xRN5hWeu9Y
“And I'm telling you as a debating point, if Democrats want to run on giving Medicaid to illegal aliens and people who won't work or choose not to work, Republicans have a counter-message that will work if they are willing to courageously defend it,” Jennings added. He also said to prepare for war on this topic—a polite debate is not going to happen.
If Jennings was spoiling for a fight, he got it from Democrat Congressman Glenn Ivey of Maryland.
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) July 9, 2025
Ivey slammed Republicans for what he claimed was painting working-class families as lazy freeloaders at a time when many are barely scraping by.
“I was going to say, I mean,… pic.twitter.com/K9HBCmEOb3
But the conversation was just warming up.
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) July 9, 2025
New York Times reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro took a swing at the Republicans’ messaging problem, saying they were boxing themselves in as the “party of taking things away.”
“It is much easier to run on a message of someone took… pic.twitter.com/ogBgKrDeCQ
Jennings even noted the millions on Medicaid who refuse to work, citing figures from the CBO. He also hit that an attempt to work is a good thing, not government dependence, which is the drug of choice on the Left. Additionally, if someone is seeking employment, they can retain their Medicaid benefits.
Come at Jennings from all fronts, and he’ll still end up on top. It’s fun to watch.
By the end of the exchange, Garcia-Navarro was desperately trying to steer the conversation back to the basic promise that anyone should be able to get medical care.
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) July 9, 2025
“But what I'm saying is most people do believe that there should be a basic ability to go to a hospital and get… pic.twitter.com/pX0UOdFXSo