CNN’s Abby Phillip & Scott Jennings Feud Online After Clashing On-Air

CNN’s Abby Phillip and Scott Jennings got into an on-air debate over the United States’ conflict with Venezuela on Friday, and then tensions rose on social media over the weekend.

Jennings posted a clip from his conversation with Phillip to X on Saturday and captioned it, “Trump: Maybe we shouldn’t let Venezuela send drugs & terrorists to the United States. Nobody:   Absolutely Nobody:    CNN: Come on, Scott, is Venezuela really that bad?” He then added, “Even I still get surprised sometimes.”

Phillip clapped back, “Absolutely no one defended Venezuela’s regime at this table. That’s a lie.” She then referenced the points she made during the on-air conversation, writing, “Fentanyl is responsible for 70% of the drug overdose deaths in America. And 90% of it comes from Mexico, not Venezuela. Those are facts.”

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. https://t.co/wvMHykar31

— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) October 18, 2025

Phillip and Jennings’ debate over Venezuela’s culpability in the United States’ drug problem began with Jennings stating, “We did all the things short of going to war with Venezuela to stop them from importing drugs into the United States. It did not work. They have continued to be a narco-terrorist state. They continue to flood drugs into the United States, and dangerous people.”

Phillip responded, “I do think it’s politically convenient to lay at the feet of Venezuela the drug problem we have in this country, but also, it’s not aligned with the facts. According to the United States’ own assessments, ‘Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations are primarily responsible for the supply of illicit drugs, including fentanyl, to the U.S. market.’ Venezuela is not really a player in fentanyl, which is the predominant killer in Americans in terms of drugs.”

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She also suggested that Donald Trump really just wants to get rid of Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro, adding, “I’m sure there are many Americans, Democrat and Republican, who support Maduro going bye-bye. That should be what Trump says, not blame it on drug trafficking, which is a relatively minor issue compared to drug trafficking that comes from Mexico.”

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The two then argued back and forth, with Jennings accusing Phillip of “downplaying” the problem, and Phillip reiterating that the biggest part of the problem is “coming from Mexico.” She said, “I’m not downplaying it. It’s jutsu factually less significant than what’s happening in Mexico.” Phillip also reiterated, “My bigger point, Scott, is this doesn’t really seem to be about the drugs, it’s about Maduro. And if it’s about Maduro, don’t you think Americans ought to know that?

Jennings said the two are “one in the same,” referring to Maduro as a “drug lord.” Phillip later stated her main case, once again. “Fentanyl is what’s killing Americans in droves. I’m talking about the seriousness of the problem: Fentanyl is killing Americans at extraordinary numbers and [Venezuela is] not a major player in the fentanyl trafficking.”

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