Scott Jennings drops hammer on Ana Kasparian for downplaying biggest drivers of national debt

CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings Tuesday scoffed at “The Young Turks” co-host Ana Kasparian as she attempted to blame the U.S.’s foreign aid for the nation’s debt while diminishing the main drivers of the nation’s fiscal woes.

Kasparian blamed the surge in the national debt on the government spending “trillions of dollars” on wars in the Middle East, prompting Jennings to factually remind her that the U.S. spends significantly more on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. The U.S. agreed to annually spend a minimum of $3.8 billion in aid to Israel for example, while it spent about $1.5 trillion on Social Security in 2024 alone.

“Really, you don’t think like the trillions of dollars we’ve spent on wars on the Middle East might have something to do with that? Our national debt shot up significantly after 9/11 [and] after we started invading countries in the Middle East,” Kasparian said. “Now, we’re spending hundreds of billions of dollars on Israel, on Ukraine. Honestly, these national conflicts have way more to do with our national debt as opposed to us paying into the Social Security system.”

“You think Israel is a bigger portion of our budget than Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid?” Jennings asked. “I’m just asking you as a mathematical matter, you think Israel is more than Social Security?”

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Kasparian then repeated her suggestion that foreign aid has caused more detriment to the national debt than Social Security. Jennings said Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid mathematically make up a larger portion of the debt as the U.S. spends significantly more on those programs.

Jennings accused Kasparian on X of making these claims because she “hates Israel” and is angry about the U.S. sending any aid to the nation.

“This is what happens when you show up unprepared. The U.S. government spends nearly $3 TRILLION every year on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid … And let’s be clear, what she’s really upset is that we support Israel. She hates Israel,” Jennings wrote.

And let’s be clear, what she’s really upset is that we support Israel. She hates Israel.

In 2024, the United States spent approximately $17.9 billion on military aid to Israel. Now compare that to the entitlement spending and tell me which is a bigger contributor to the debt

— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) September 3, 2025

The U.S.’ approximate $1.5 trillion spent on Social Security in the 2024 fiscal year made up about 22.4% of the total federal budget, according to USA Facts. Throughout the same fiscal year, the U.S. spent at least $17.9 billion in military aid for Israel, making up a significantly lesser portion of federal spending.

The U.S. also spent over $1 trillion on Medicare and $909 billion on Medicaid in fiscal year 2024. Meanwhile, the U.S. spent $994 billion on defense in 2024, which is less than what is spent on these social programs in total. Paying interest on the national debt as a result of these social programs became one of the highest spending categories for the federal government.

However, the the U.S still spent a large amount on foreign wars following 9/11, including about $2.3 trillion on the Afghanistan war between the 2001 and 2022 fiscal years, and about $2.9 trillion on the wars in Iraq and Syria during that same time period. In total, the U.S. spent about $8 trillion in post 9/11 war spending, a large amount, but still far less than the grand total spent on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid over that timespan.

Kasparian later doubled down on her argument by stating on X that increased spending on wars and foreign aid was a “major driver of our outrageous national debt.”

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