CNN guest Nick Ackerman let the mask slip during a panel discussion on Wednesday evening, making it clear that he had no problem with working to nullify the results of an election if he believed the person who ultimately won was unqualified.
The panel was discussing the recent furor over billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — as well as the Democrat Attorneys General who had used the court system to try to stop their momentum.
RedState’s Bonchie posted video of the exchange, along with the following caption: “This is one of the most mask-off moments to occur since the election. Scott Jennings gets CNN to say the quiet part out loud: That they believe their proclamations of qualification should override elections.”
WATCH:
This is one of the most mask-off moments to occur since the election.
Scott Jennings gets CNN to say the quiet part out loud: That they believe their proclamations of qualification should override elections.
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) February 12, 2025
Republican commentator Scott Jennings kicked off the conversation, saying that the actions of the attorneys general amounted to a continuation of the political prosecutions that were initially designed to prevent President Donald Trump from winning reelection.
“Here’s what I think is a joke — that you have these partisan hack Democrat attorney generals, they get together, and the only thing they know how to do is try to nullify the results of the last election by venue-shopping these district court judges,” Jennings said. “They find the most lunatic liberals they can, they file lawsuits knowing full well they are going to try to usurp the president’s authority, tie this up in court for years …”
Ackerman, a former Watergate prosecutor, weighed in on DOGE and the agencies that had been targeted for audits, saying, “That stuff is sacrosanct, and you’ve got people going in there who don’t know anything about —”
Bakari Sellers attempted to help Ackerman out, arguing that what the judges were issuing were “just restraining orders,” but Jennings was not convinced.
Going back to Ackerman’s point, he said, “What you just said is so profound. You said, ‘These people don’t know anything and they don’t know what they’re doing.'”
“That’s right,” Ackerman agreed.
“But they are appointees of the duly elected president, so your view, you’re here as our legal expert, but your view is because you don’t personally believe that they know enough, that the duly elected president — who appointed a Treasury Secretary and who appoints special appointees like Elon Musk — shouldn’t be able to act as the president because you don’t personally believe they know enough?”
“Well, they certainly —” Ackerman sputtered.
“Is that how it works?” Jennings asked. “Or do elections mean anything to you!”
“It’s got nothing to do with elections,” Ackerman shot back, prompting a visual reaction from Jennings: “Whoa! Truth was told tonight. The truth was told.”
