Scott Jennings didn't just win an argument on CNN Wednesday night. He got Abby Phillip to admit he was right, live, on air, in front of a panel that had spent the whole segment pretending Joe Biden's inflation disaster never happened.
The fight broke out when Keith Boykin, a former Clinton White House aide turned CNN commentator, tried to pin every bit of America's economic pain on President Trump. Boykin rattled off a list of grievances before Jennings jumped in to correct him.
“I hope, if anything else, if nothing else, that this debacle proves once and for all, or debunks the myth, that Republicans are good for the economy. If you look at Donald Trump's record, he shows exactly the opposite,” Boykin said. “The debt is up. Inflation is up. Gas prices are up. Unemployment —"
"Inflation's down, actually," Jennings said, interrupting Boykin's DNC talking points before he could finish.
Boykin shot back that inflation was 3% "when Joe Biden took office," as though that erases everything that happened afterward. Abby Phillip jumped in to back him up, insisting inflation is "higher today than it was when Trump took office."
This, of course, is a highly deceptive number. Inflation hit historic highs under Joe Biden, peaking at 9%, whereas under Trump, inflation has remained low.
"What was the highest rate during Biden?" Jennings asked. Boykin wouldn't answer. He asked it again, and Boykin still wouldn't answer, accusing Jennings instead of "deflecting" while repeating that inflation was 3% when Biden took office, as if the beginning of the story were the whole story.
"There was no inflation during Biden,” Jennings joked. “You heard it here on CNN."
The line landed — because it was true. The same people wringing their hands over prices under Trump spent years insisting there was never a problem under Biden at all.
ICYMI: The FBI Paid Eric Swalwell a Visit Over the Weekend
Then something remarkable happened. Anchor Abby Phillip conceded the point herself. "Inflation was very high under Biden," she admitted. "But when Donald Trump came into office, it was lower than it is today." Jennings didn't let her slide the concession past him. "So you admit that it went up under Biden and it's lower now," he said. Phillip tried to shut the topic down, asking why anyone was "arguing over things that don't need to be argued about."
That's rich, considering her own network spent years insisting there was nothing to argue about in the first place.
.@scottjenningsky calls out Keith Boykin on CNN Newsnight for memory-holing the out of control inflation under Joe Biden:
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) August 20, 2026
“There was no inflation during Biden. You heard it here on CNN.” pic.twitter.com/K7c6TnCg0z
Jennings wasn't done making his point. He followed up on X with a clip from the segment and the facts.
Fact check: Under Joe Biden, Americans suffered roughly 21 percent cumulative inflation, including a 40-year-high inflation rate of 9.1 percent. Under Trump, inflation was 2.7 percent last year. It’s 3.4 percent today, largely because of the energy shock from the Iran war, but… pic.twitter.com/2k8DnLge9l
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) August 20, 2026
This is what happens every single time Democrats get cornered on the economy. They only discover inflation is a problem the moment a Republican sits in the Oval Office, and they'll cheerfully blame Trump for price hikes that started on Biden's watch. For years, the left insisted the Biden economy was strong, that complaints about grocery bills were overblown, that anyone struggling to make ends meet just didn't understand the data. The left loves to pretend the Biden years never happened, and this panel demonstrated it in real time, on camera, for everyone to see.
Editor's Note: Do you enjoy PJ Media's conservative reporting that takes on the radical Left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member