Folks on the left absolutely adore the television show The Handmaid’s Tale, except when someone like CNN’s Scott Jennings uses it agains tthem.
On Monday, CNN’s Newsnight’s panel devolved into a heated exchange in which the left-leaning hosts took issue with a quip Jennings made about Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who wore a hijab to visit a local mall.
“You’ve got to admit, though, the catering to the Somali community that goes on by the Democrats in Minnesota is a little weird, is it not?” Jennings said. “A small proportion of the population.”
Jennings continued, “They got the lieutenant governor up there dressed like The Handmaid’s Tale. I mean, why do they care?”
Then, the pearl-clutching began.
One of the panelists said Jennings was “out of line.”
Host Abby Phillips interjected, “Hold on a second, just a second, because I don’t think it would be acceptable for you to make a statement like that about Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn. Why on Earth is it acceptable to make a statement like that about people–”
Jennings countered, “It’s a white liberal women dressing–”
Phillips came back, saying Jennings was “describing the type of dresss as The Handmaid’s Tale” to “denigrate the religion of a group of people.”
Scott Jennings: “The catering to the Somali community that goes on by the Democrats in Minnesota is a little weird, is it not? They got the lieutenant governor up there dressed like the handmaid's tail.”
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) December 30, 2025
“Why do they cater to them? It's such a small portion of the population.… pic.twitter.com/Wm6PusL0je
But let’s be clear on what Phillips was arguing. Her position is a principle that many agree with. Most don’t actively run around mocking people’s religious practices and demeaning an entire group of people who adhere to a particular faith.
The problem is that Phillips and her comrades don’t actually believe in this principle.
Since 2017, progressive activists have weaponized The Handmaid’s Tale as a cudgel against Christian conservatives. They used it to mock and “denigrate” Christians who oppose abortion and other policies.
In Texas, pro-choice activists dressed as handmaids to protest against state restrictions on abortion. But this has happened all over the world as progressives claim to be fighting for women’s rights.
The point is that Christians who oppose abortion are basically like the tyrannical governing forces that oppress and enslave women in The Handmaid’s Tale.
Yes, there was not a word from Abby Phillip about denigration.
Not a peep about how it wasn't acceptable to make a statement like that about Christians.
In fact, a Morning Consult poll showed that 29% of Democratic men and 26% of Democratic women believed The Handmaid's Tale was "grounded in truth and could become a reality someday." The left didn't just tolerate this denigration of the Christian faith. They embraced it. They incorporated it into their electoral messaging. They used it to stoke fear about Christian conservatives.
When anti-Brett Kavanaugh protesters showed up in handmaid costumes at his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, the establishment media didn't call it "denigration." They called it activism for women’s rights.
But the moment Scott Jennings makes a sarcastic reference to that same book when describing a politician's pandering wardrobe choice? Suddenly it's beyond the pale.
The truth is that those who apply their principles based on politics don’t actually hold to those principles or standards. This is why there is no valid reason to take these people seriously.