CNN Anchor Abby Phillip Defends Featuring Trump Supporters Amid Backlash
CNN anchor Abby Phillip recently addressed criticism over her decision to feature supporters of former President Donald Trump on her nightly program. Speaking during a Tuesday appearance on the nationally syndicated radio show “The Breakfast Club,” Phillip explained why including “MAGA people” in her coverage is essential, despite pushback from some viewers on the left.
“I get a lot of criticism from the left, from people who are like, ‘Why does she have MAGA people on the show?’” Phillip told host Charlamagne Tha God. “Well, you should know what they are saying.”
Phillip argued that tuning out Trump supporters leads to political blindness. “Just so you know, half the country voted for Trump and for Trumpism, and it’s not helpful to be completely unaware of what is happening in those media ecosystems,” she said.
Highlighting the importance of open ideological debate, Phillip added: “I want the debate. We need to have that debate. I want it to be right there out in the open.”
Her remarks come following a series of heated on-air exchanges with Republican pundit Scott Jennings, CNN’s resident conservative commentator and a regular contributor to Phillip’s “NewsNight” panel.
Earlier this month, Phillip and Jennings clashed over Trump’s justification for airstrikes on vessels allegedly smuggling fentanyl from Venezuela to the U.S. The confrontation resurfaced online when Jennings posted an edited clip of their debate on X (formerly Twitter). Phillip fired back, clarifying: “Absolutely no one defended Venezuela’s regime at this table. That’s a lie. Fentanyl is responsible for 70% of the drug overdose deaths in America. And 90% of it comes from Mexico, not Venezuela. Those are the facts.”
Two weeks prior, Phillip interrupted Jennings during a discussion about Trump’s government shutdown tactics. Jennings had claimed that Democrats were offering Medicaid benefits to undocumented immigrants. Phillip quickly corrected him on air: “Scott, that is a lie, OK? Medicaid does not go to undocumented immigrants. SNAP does not go to undocumented immigrants. You know, CHIP does not go to undocumented immigrants. Show me the law.”
During her interview on “The Breakfast Club,” Phillip emphasized that the left’s discomfort with hearing from Trump loyalists only deepens the partisan divide.
“The media is so fragmented right now. Everybody is consuming media in their own silos,” she said. “A lot of people on the left have no idea what’s being said in those conservative ecosystems.”
Phillip believes it is more productive to confront misinformation directly rather than excluding guests with opposing viewpoints. She cited a recent on-air exchange with fitness personality Jillian Michaels, who faced backlash for suggesting that Americans overemphasize slavery’s role in U.S. history.
“It does not do us any favors to pretend like a lot of people don’t agree with Jillian Michaels,” Phillip noted. “It’s an opportunity for us to correct the record, to educate, to inform, to put facts on the table.”
At 35, Abby Phillip has anchored “NewsNight” since 2023, when CNN rebranded its 10 p.m. slot as a nightly roundtable featuring contrasting viewpoints. Jennings, a longtime GOP strategist and former George W. Bush aide, remains one of her most frequent guests.
The Post has reached out to Scott Jennings and Jillian Michaels for comment.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/30/media/abby-phillip-fires-back-at-liberals-over-hosting-trump-supporters-on-cnn/