By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-06 21:05:41 | Updated at 2025-01-08 03:48:28
1 day ago
CNN's resident Republican Scott Jennings had some strong words for Justin Trudeau Monday minutes before the prime minister's very public resignation.
The conservative contributor also offered a reminder as to who played a prominent part in the progressive's ousting - countless Canadian truckers.
Jennings offered the remarks on 'CNN News Central', and praised truckers who participated in vaccine mandate protests during the pandemic.
At the time, the drivers staged a protest stylized as the Freedom Convoy, leading them to be punished by the progressive's administration.
Trudeau, back then, painted the thousands of participants as a 'small, fringe minority', while siccing police on peaceful participants, confiscating fuel, and sending cops to supporters' home.
Truckers, meanwhile, were erroneously framed as 'Russian actors', and crowdfunding site GoFundMe went as far to freeze more than $8million in funds raised by their cause.
Jennings, 47, was not willing to forget this, and touted the trucker's resilience as, at least in part, driving the day's events.
To end the convoy, Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act - a move that many viewed as an abuse of power. Trudeau's Administration even threatened to freeze personal bank accounts of those who supported the truckers, spurring accusations of Facism.
CNN contributor Scott Jennings had some strong words for Justin Trudeau Monday, on 'CNN News Central'
Minutes later, an emotional Trudeau emerged outside Rideau Cottage, his official residence, to confirm he would be stepping down
'God bless the truckers - that's what I'm saying,' Jennings told fellow panelist Bakari Sellers and host Kate Bolduan.
'There's a direct line between those truckers and what's happening today,' he insisted, appearing visibly jovial before Trudeau made his resignation official with a speech in Ontario.
'Good riddance,' he added, not able to hide back a smile - as Boldan jokingly grimaced in response to her more conservative counterpart's proclamation.
'This is my first day back,' she groaned, doubling over as Bakari laughed in the background.
She proceeded to hand the reins to co-host Sara Sidner, paving the way for an emotional Trudeau's speech outside Rideau Cottage, his official residence.
'I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide, competitive process,' he told onlookers, first in English and then in French.
'I'm a fighter. Every bone in my body has always told me to fight because I care deeply about Canadians,' he continued, not mentioning the Freedom Convoy or any current crises.
'I care deeply about this country, and I will always be motivated by what is in the best interest of Canadians,' the prime minister said.
Jennings offered the remarks on 'CNN News Central', and praised truckers who participated in vaccine mandate protests during the pandemic in process
Trudeau, back then, painted the thousands of participants as a 'small, fringe minority', while siccing police on peaceful participants, confiscating fuel, and sending cops to supporters' home
The protests consisted of more than 50,000 motorists, and were ended by an emergency declaration many framed as the work of a dictator
In response to a question from the press, he insisted that 'Parliament needs a reset... and needs to get to work for Canadians.
'Removing me as the leader who will fight the next election for the party should decrease the polarization that we have right now,' he asserted, airing the belief that his exit will 'bring the temperature down' and allow a return to normalcy.
This time in 2022, Trudeau sang a different tune, declaring he would not be meeting with truckers then overrunning Ottawa - bizarrely citing their 'hateful rhetoric.'
Appearing remotely in isolation at an undisclosed location after testing positive for COVID-19, he labeled dissent caused by his own policies as 'racist' and 'violent.'
Per the progressive politician's guidance at the time, Canadian drivers who were not vaccinated are barred from entering the US until they have gotten the jab. They blocked border routes in response.
The double-pronged bid from the coalition of more than 50,000 truck drivers did not prove successful in the immediate sense, but did spawn discontent from Canadians and American onlookers.
Other factors like foreign investors snapping up properties to the point of a housing crisis and frightening inflation worsened matters, and helped Trudeau's chances at reelection become increasingly slim.
Moreover, at the Ottawa protest in February of 2022, a woman was trampled by a police horse, as was a man who tried to help her.
Trudeau had called the tens of thousands of truckers and other dissenters headed for the capital a 'small, fringe minority,' despite the barrier to the US border being 45 miles long
Two years later, Jennings also celebrated the trucker's efforts again on X, this time after Trudeau's resignation speech
Right after Jennings remarks to fellow panelist Bakari Sellers and host Kate Bolduan, Trudeau made the rumors official. He did not mention the Freedom Convoy
In response, the Ottawa Police force insisted on social media that "No one has been seriously injured or passed away in any of [the day's] police actions. Safety is our priority."
Two years later, Jennings celebrated the trucker's efforts again on X, just after Trudeau's resignation speech.
He wrote on Elon Musk's social media platform, 'God bless the American truckers', in a post that quickly racked up more than 100,00 views.
