‘Oh, Scott, come on!’ Jennings says Democrats’ war on holidays reveals something much darker

Thanksgiving can breathe a little easier this morning.

Wisconsin Democratic socialist Francesca Hong—whose old demand to “cancel Thanksgiving” became one of the most memorable liabilities of her campaign—lost Tuesday’s Democratic gubernatorial primary to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.

With nearly all precincts reporting, Crowley held approximately 39.9% of the vote to Hong’s 39.4%, a margin of only a few thousand votes. Crowley will face Trump-endorsed Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in November.

Scott Jennings says Democrats attacking Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July are rejecting the cultural pillars that bind America together arguing that voters will not trust politicians on affordability or public safety if they appear hostile to the traditions millions of… pic.twitter.com/uUO3zUSCpK

— NewYork-Insight (@NewYork_Insight) August 12, 2026

Hong’s narrow defeat provided the latest backdrop for a fiery CNN exchange in which Republican commentator Scott Jennings argued that the left’s hostility toward American holidays offers voters a revealing glimpse into the movement’s broader worldview.

Or, in Jennings’ considerably less diplomatic formulation:

“I think these are windows into the souls of these anti-American radical communists.”

That set off CNN commentator Karen Finney.

“Oh, God. Oh, Scott, come on!”

Come on, indeed. Because nothing makes a cable-news panel clutch its pearls faster than a conservative noticing what progressives have been saying in public.

The exchange unfolded during CNN’s Tuesday-night primary coverage, as the panel discussed Hong and Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.

Jennings began by observing that Hong had been too radical to secure the support of two of the nation’s most famous socialist-friendly politicians.

“When you’re so crazy that Bernie Sanders and AOC won’t even endorse you, you’re pretty far out there!”

Sanders said he did not know enough about Hong’s race to endorse her. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez praised Hong during an ABC News interview but stopped short of offering a formal endorsement.

Jennings then turned to the recent controversies surrounding the two candidates.

“I think these holiday conversations are actually valuable. She hates Thanksgiving. Today, our own K-File here at CNN uncovered the fact that over in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed wants to get rid of the Fourth of July.”

CNN host Kaitlan Collins interrupted with an important clarification.

“I think he said we should get rid of fireworks.”

Jennings was not buying the distinction.

“He was very critical of the Fourth of July.”

Collins responded:

“Getting rid of fireworks is different than getting rid of the Fourth of July.”

Technically, Collins was right. El-Sayed did not explicitly propose erasing Independence Day from the calendar. In a 2024 video, he declared that “fireworks suck” and asked Americans to find another way to celebrate July 4. His objections included the potential effects of fireworks on air quality, animals, children and veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. But Jennings argued that Collins was minimizing the larger message.

“I think you’re downplaying the message.”

He continued:

“If you hate Thanksgiving and you hate the Fourth of July, what you’re really saying is, ‘I hate some of the pillars that undergird American culture.’”

Jennings then delivered the segment’s best line:

“If I was Christmas and Easter, I wouldn’t be feeling too comfortable right now if these people win!”

At last report, Christmas and Easter had retained counsel and were monitoring the situation.

Hong’s Thanksgiving controversy was less ambiguous.

In a now-deleted 2020 post, she wrote:

“Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621.”

Hong added:

“If it takes a worldwide pandemic for us to realize we should stop celebrating colonialism and the original superspreader event that killed indigenous folx and women, so be it.”

As the remarks became an issue in the governor’s race, Hong insisted that her views had “evolved” and that Thanksgiving was now her “favorite holiday.”

That is quite an evolution—from “cancel Thanksgiving” to pass the stuffing.

Hong also attempted to retreat from past calls to defund or abolish police departments.

“I’m not defunding the police, not abolishing police,” she told voters shortly before the primary. “I am serious about public safety.”

Her campaign nevertheless remained anchored to an unapologetically progressive platform, including a $20 minimum wage, guaranteed paid leave and a one-year moratorium on new AI data centers.

Crowley, backed by retiring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, presented himself as the more electable candidate in a battleground state. Moderate Democrats warned that placing Hong at the top of the ticket could hurt the party in congressional and legislative races.

Even Republican-aligned groups spent millions helping Hong during the primary, evidently concluding that she would be a splendid general-election opponent.

Wisconsin Democrats noticed the gift-wrapping just in time.

Jennings’ argument went beyond a dispute over fireworks and turkey.

“How are you going to have a conversation with a voter about affordability or public safety or anything else, if you’re trying to get rid of Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July?”

That is the political danger for Democrats.

A candidate may campaign on lowering grocery bills, expanding health care or helping working families. But when the same candidate has spent years describing familiar American institutions as oppressive, colonialist or fundamentally rotten, voters may reasonably wonder what kind of country the candidate intends to build.

The American left has developed a peculiar habit of treating nearly every national tradition as a crime scene. Thanksgiving becomes colonialism. Independence Day becomes pollution and trauma. The flag is divisive. The national anthem is problematic. Police are oppressive. Borders are immoral. Prisons should disappear.

Then, when an election arrives, the same activists are surprised to discover that voters would rather enjoy Thanksgiving dinner than receive a lecture about the problematic political implications of grandma’s sweet potatoes.

Jennings is also correct that Republicans frequently fail to capitalize on the contrast. Democratic socialists can offer a platform featuring abolished prisons, weakened borders, government-run businesses and $20 wage mandates—and some Republican will respond by insulting voters over the price of a burrito.

This should not be difficult.

Republicans do not need to claim El-Sayed literally wants to abolish Independence Day. His campaign is correct that criticizing fireworks is not the same as canceling July 4. They only need to quote these candidates accurately, explain the larger ideology behind their policies and allow voters to decide whether the sudden moderation is genuine or merely electoral camouflage.

Hong’s loss suggests at least some Democratic voters understood the risk. But her 39.4% showing also demonstrates how close Wisconsin came to nominating a self-described democratic socialist with an opposition-research file large enough to require its own Thanksgiving table.

The far left did not disappear Tuesday night. It lost a photo finish in Wisconsin after winning a major Senate primary in Michigan one week earlier.

Christmas and Easter should probably remain vigilant.

WIRE SOURCES