Former Clinton White House aide Keith Boykin claimed on CNN that the American people are better off now than they were four years ago, prompting an audible reaction from Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL).

Both Boykin and Donalds — along with Republican commentator Scott Jennings and anchor Abby Phillip — participated in a panel discussion, and the topic turned to Tuesday evening’s vice presidential debate and potential questions about the state of the U.S. economy.

Jennings shared video of the exchange, captioning the clip, “Come for my point-by-point takedown of why Trump is more trusted on the economy, & stay for @ByronDonalds’ reaction to assertion ‘we are better off than we were four years ago’ on @CNN.”

WATCH:

Come for my point-by-point takedown of why Trump is more trusted on the economy, & stay for @ByronDonalds reaction to assertion “we are better off than we were four years ago” on @CNN pic.twitter.com/8zSX0F0T9l

— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) October 1, 2024

“I think if you look at it holistically, the two campaigns are having a debate about the economy,” Jennings began. “And Trump has things to say, Harris has things to say, and right now, according to all the polling, Trump is more trusted on the economy. Trump’s term in office, people look back on it more fondly than they look upon the Biden and Harris term, largely because of the economy and largely because of inflation.”

Jennings went on to say that one of the reasons Harris has been struggling on economic issues is that she has thus far failed to convince voters that if elected president, she would chart a different course than the one she navigated alongside President Joe Biden.

Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here!

“She may think that’s a good path, it’s just that the American people do not believe that, and it’s not even close,” he concluded.

Boykin jumped in then, claiming that Harris had laid out her economic plan in the debate — but Jennings stopped him, reminding him that Harris had not had an answer when she was asked directly in the very first question of the night whether she believed Americans were better off than they’d been four years earlier.

“I’ll tell you what though, people are better off than they were four years ago,” Boykin asserted. He kept going, but the camera panned to Donalds, whose eyes widened as he simply said, “Wow. Wow.”