'Don't even start': GOP strategist shut down on CNN over Obama's diaper-themed Trump jab
A Republican strategist tried to raise a ruckus about former President Barack Obama's diaper-themed jab at former President Donald Trump — and found himself shut down instead.
Political analyst Scott Jennings attempted to disparage Obama's suggestion that Trump never changed a baby's diaper — and laughter when a heckler retorted the 78-year-old Republican nominee had likely changed his own — but was swiftly cut off by New York Democrat Christine Quinn during a CNN panel discussion Friday morning.
"Oh jeez," Quinn told Jennings. "Don't even start."
This command came amid a snappy back-and-forth between Quinn and Jennings, who tried to express moral outrage that the Democratic former president had alluded to low-brow humor.
"The high-minded elevator discourse of civil discourse in our country, Barack Obama has gone from making penis jokes as the Democratic National Convention—" he said.
"Oh, please," interrupted Quinn with an eye roll.
"To making adult diaper jokes," Jennings concluded.
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This, technically, did not occur, as anchor John Berman was quick to point out.
During his speech, Obama argued the Republican presidential nominee did not seem like the kind of father who would get into the nitty-gritty of parenting, asking the crowd, "Do you think Donald Trump ever changed a diaper?"
"No!" a man in the crowd replied. A voice cried out, "His own!"
Obama pointed in the heckler's direction and smiled. "I almost said that," Obama said. "But I decided I shouldn't."
This back-and-forth infuriated Jennings who claimed Obama wanted to have things both ways and maintained the former president's sense of humor undercut the sincerity of his messaging.
"I'm here to elevate the discourse," Jennings said, mimicking Obama. "By the way, let's joke about genitalia and diapers."
Quinn's eyebrows shot up her forehead as she reminded Jennings about the oratory stylings of his own party's presidential candidate, who in the past has mocked opponents, critics and journalists as "filthy" and "nasty" and referred to Harris as a "b----."
"Anyone associated or affiliated, whatever the right way to say it is, with the Trump campaign can't raise issues of civil discourse," Quinn said with a laugh. "In the world of who hasn't engaged in civil discourse in elections, Donald Trump is at the top of the heap."