May 27, 2025
Abby Phillip’s questioned Jennings’ support of President Donald Trump’s “White Genocide” in South Africa rhetoric.
CNN anchor Abby Phillip and Republican analyst Scott Jennings got into it over President Donald Trump’s recent Oval Office rant about a “white genocide” in South Africa. During a May 21 segment on CNN NewsNight, Phillips joined Jennings and fellow panelists Elise Labott, Charles Blow, Ashley Allison, Shermichael Singleton, and Tara Palmeri to discuss the recent refugee controversy.
The context that sparked the heated debate between Phillips and the Republican Jennings ensued after President Trump publicly insinuated that White South Africans are being subjected to “genocide” and claimed that they need to be accepted as refugees, while turning away other suffering groups.
In the segment of CNN NewsNight, Jennings defended Trump’s rhetoric, claiming that white farmers were being targeted in South Africa.
When Phillip pushed back with data supporting her rebuttal, the CNN anchor finally asked Jennings in a heated debate, “Why are you only concerned about white people?”
Phillips began, “This is straight out of the conspiracy land of the far right, and it is not based in fact. And it’s amazing that this has actually become the foreign policy of the United States based on just straight up — I mean, we have the numbers. It is completely unsubstantiated.”
Jennings pushed back, “You’re saying it’s not true that some white farmers have been murdered.”
Phillip quickly clarified, “No, it’s not true that there is a genocide against White farmers…How many white farmers have been murdered in South Africa?”
Jennings stated on the broadcast that he did not know, allowing Phillip to continue, “I know why you don’t know? Because those numbers don’t exist broken down by race.”
When Phillip questioned Jennings on how many Black farmers have been killed recently in South Africa, the 47-year-old conservative responded, “Look, you guys are so triggered over 59 [dead] people.”
Phillip cited the South African police as she pulled data to respond.
“There are 19,000 murderers in South Africa, 36 were on farms. Seven of them were victims of farmers, okay? The other 29 victims who were included in the farm killings were farm employees who tended to be Black. So, the vast majority of people killed on farms in South Africa are Black. Where is the concern about them?”
Jennings doubled down on supporting Trump’s viewpoint, alleging that the American government is concerned about white farmers experiencing violence overseas.
Phillip finally questioned Jennings upfront, asking, “Why are you only concerned about white people?”
Jennings explained that he was focused only on white people because, “They’re getting status, and now everybody’s freaking out about it.”
Fellow panelists finally began to chime in during the debate, fact-checking Jennings and expressing that “There’s no evidence that white people have been targeted.”
Many of the tensions discussed in the CNN episode by Jennings and Phillip began during a May 21 bilateral meeting in the Oval Office between President Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Things got heated after a reporter questioned Trump on clarifying the refugee policy. Trump responded by displaying a video during the meeting, accusing South Africa of conducting a “White Genocide.”
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