A tense exchange unfolded on CNN as commentator Scott Jennings rejected criticism from Republican lawmakers Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene over U.S. military action against Iran and defended the justification for the operation.

The discussion began when a CNN host referenced opposition from Massie.

“Congressman Thomas Massie, also writing this is not America first. Do they have a point?” the host asked.

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Jennings responded by dismissing both lawmakers’ standing within the Republican Party and the broader America First movement.

“No, they don’t have a point,” Jennings said.

“And I don’t consider them to be actual Republicans, and I don’t consider them to be part of the America first or MAGA movement, to be honest with you, they are basically allied against Donald Trump on everything, whether it’s foreign affairs or domestic policy, they’ve just become political enemies of the President of the United States, no matter what he does, and that’s unfortunate, but she quit, and he’s about to lose in a primary in Kentucky, so that will be the end of that, if I may.”

Jennings then turned to the broader question of the military action itself.

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“You mentioned what’s the justification? And I think it’s a fair question,” he said. “And Karen raised some some questions that need to be answered, and I’m sure they will answer them.”

He argued that the Iranian regime has a long history of hostility toward the United States.

“But look, over 47 years, hundreds of American troops have been killed by the Iranian regime and its proxies,” Jennings said.

He added that administration officials cited intelligence indicating imminent threats.

“And I talked to senior administration, very senior administration officials today, they had intelligence that the regime was going to fire missiles into us, military and civilian targets,” Jennings said.

According to Jennings, Iran’s continued nuclear activity and refusal to change course also factored into the decision.

“They were still enriching uranium. They would not give up on that,” he said. “We had a lot of justification to do this.”

Jennings said diplomatic efforts had been attempted but did not succeed.

“They tried diplomacy. Iran wouldn’t do it,” he said.

He concluded by framing the action as preventative.

“The President acted to save American lives. That was a justification.”

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