Sometimes the left is so invested in talking points that it fails to see how ridiculous it is, and Scott Jennings did just that to former Daily Beast editor John Avlon on CNN's NewsNight, leaving him speechless.
Avlon was deep into a lengthy argument about gerrymandering and race, making the case that the Supreme Court's willingness to allow partisan gerrymandering while cracking down on racial gerrymandering was somehow undermining minority representation, particularly in the South. "When you've got 25% of the population is African American, but they're going to end up having one-tenth the representation or decreased representation, that's a problem," he argued.
He went further, arguing that partisan gerrymandering too often carries a racial overlay, especially in Southern states. "This court has said partisan gerrymandering is fine, but they're going after racial gerrymandering in a way that undercuts representation inequality, especially in the South," he said. His solution? Get rid of all of it. "Let's have non-partisan gerrymandering," he urged.
Jennings responded with a clean, sharp counter. "My view is that states ought to decide this," he said. "Regarding John's argument, I just fundamentally think that the government shouldn't be in the business of dividing us up by race. It's fundamentally racist to divide us up by race."
Jennings pointed out that African American members of Congress have been winning in majority-white districts across the country, which tells us that the justifications for majority-minority districts are no longer valid.
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That set off another round of crosstalk, with Neera Tanden jumping in and Ana Navarro noting that the four black Republican members of Congress were all leaving — as if that matters or negates the point.
"Well, they ran for other offices,” Jennings pointed out.
Then Avlon, perhaps sensing the argument slipping away from him, reached for a historical data point. "We haven't had an African-American Republican governor since Reconstruction," he said, throwing it out like a trump card.
But Jennings was ready.
"Republicans tried to elect one in Virginia," he shot back.
Avlon, clearly flustered, was practically speechless.
But then Jennings came in with the kill shot: "Then you got a white Democrat who gerrymandered the state.”
Everyone knew that Jennings had nailed him, and so Sara Sidner, who was guest-hosting the show, cut to a break, declaring, “Everything is crumbling clearly at this table."
Scott Jennings leaves former Daily Beast editor-in-chief speechless in an embarrassing live moment on CNN.
— Overton (@overton_news) April 30, 2026
John Avlon attempted to make the case that Republicans were so racist they haven’t elected a black Republican governor since the reconstruction era.
That’s when Jennings… pic.twitter.com/ZPgC26mnAn
Avlon, who thought he had some silver bullet with some self-righteous talking points about gerrymandering and race, wound up with egg on his face. Democrats have spent years gerrymandering blue states to lock out Republican representation, yet they have the audacity to claim some moral high ground on gerrymandering? Sorry, but that doesn’t fly.
He had to walk out of there with his tail between his legs, having been reminded that Democrats chose a white candidate over a black woman in Virginia and then proceeded to gerrymander the state. It was a brutal reality check.
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