Scott Jennings Calls Massie Remarks Anti-Semitic in Loss

Scott Jennings blasted Rep. Thomas Massie’s concession remarks after his primary loss to a Trump-backed challenger, arguing the line about finding his opponent in Tel Aviv crossed into anti-Semitic “gutter politics.” The race, Jennings said, became a referendu

On Tuesday night, Scott Jennings didn’t soften his tone after Rep. Thomas Massie’s primary defeat. In a concession speech following Massie’s loss to a Trump-backed opponent in what was described as the most expensive House primary in U.S. history, Jennings said Massie’s final remark was “despicable” and crossed into “anti-Semitic nasty gutter politics.”.

The exchange began when CNN anchor Sara Sidner asked Jennings. “What are your thoughts on what happened here?” Jennings pointed to the size of the race and the political pressure around it. He said the contest was “the most expensive House primary in U.S. history” and argued “the president made it a priority to get rid of Thomas Massie. ” saying the effort succeeded because Massie had become “an opponent of the president inside the party.”.

Jennings added that Massie had once “reliably” voted with Republicans. but that the number had “been falling over time.” He framed the result as a district that expects its Republican congressman to “be part of the team. ” noting that the district is “one of the most conservative” in the country and “certainly a conservative area of Kentucky.” He said voters delivered “a massive victory” for Donald Trump in 2024.

Then Jennings turned to the specific line that animated much of the backlash. Massie. Jennings said. had quipped in his concession speech: “I would have come out sooner. but I had to call my opponent to concede and it took a while to find Ed Gallrein in Tel Aviv.” Jennings argued that remark carried an “under-curren of anti-Semitism” and said it had “really came out in an ugly way tonight.”.

He tied the race’s framing to the two issues that dominated advertising. Jennings said “the two big issues in the race” were “tax cuts and immigration.” In that telling. Massie’s position placed him at odds with the Trump-aligned direction of the party. Jennings said Massie was “against Trump on both his big border security and tax cut bills. ” and that the campaign message was essentially that voters could choose “a Republican congressman who will be part of the team and support the president.”.

Jennings emphasized what he believed was missing from the concession moment: explicit condemnation of what he called an anti-Semitic signal. “I just want to also add one other thing,” he said. “Thomas Massie… said something despicable—anti-Semitic nasty gutter politics at the end.” He pointed to the closing phrasing again. repeating Massie’s comment about calling Ed Gallrein while “I had to find him in Tel Aviv. ” and argued the statement needed to be “stated. acknowledged. and condemned because it was pretty despicable.”.

Sidner pressed the conversation back toward the lived reality of the district, responding: “All right, so that’s the perspective from the district in which you also live and have been watching all this.”

The clip aired as Jennings continued to insist that Massie’s remark wasn’t just an awkward line, but a reveal of something he said had been present before—“There’s been an undercurrent of it in his career, unfortunately, and it really came out in an ugly way tonight.”

Scott Jennings Thomas Massie Sara Sidner CNN primary loss Ed Gallrein Tel Aviv anti-Semitic gutter politics immigration tax cuts Donald Trump Kentucky House primary