CNN Pundit Decimates Van Hollen and His Hilarious 'Margarita-Gate' Defense

One of the funniest things this weekend has to be Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen's defense of why there were margaritas on the table when he was meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador.

Do you notice the difference between these two photos? pic.twitter.com/D5iqYlNZ7t
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 18, 2025

It was a set up, Van Hollen claimed. The government put them there, but he didn't imbibe. While those were the cherry on top -- literally -- of his ridiculous exercise, that was just a silly defense. And it wouldn't change that he met with Abrego Garcia, which was the real problem the American people were having with Van Hollen that he refuses to even acknowledge.

Van Hollen then trainwrecked on the Sunday shows earlier, when asked if he questioned Abrego Garcia about membership in MS-13. He even bizarrely started to call him an American and had to stop himself, and admitted who was paying for his embarrassing trip: the American taxpayers.

Van Hollen Trainwrecks on the Sunday Shows, Reveals Who's Paying for His Trip

CNN's senior political commentator Scott Jennings had a field day with Van Hollen's hilarious defense, as my colleague at sister site Townhall, Rebecca Downs observed.

Joined @cnn tonight after listening to a clip of @ChrisVanHollen explaining that he wasn’t actually sipping margaritas in El Salvador with an MS-13 gangbanger who, until recently, was living illegally in the US for 14 years! What a joke. pic.twitter.com/FK0RWWsU9O
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) April 19, 2025

Jennings said if Van Hollen is explaining how he came to be sipping margaritas with an alleged MS-13 gangbanger, "who has lived illegally in the United States for 14 years before he was finally deported, you're losing."

You're losing. You're losing optically. You're losing politically. And I assume the people of Maryland are wondering why doesn't this guy ever work as hard for us as he does for this guy who's down in El Salvador which, by the way, is where he's from in the first place?

Sounds like he was reading my story about Margarita-gate, where I said if you're having to explain, you're losing.

Jennings continued, saying that the American people voted for President Donald Trump to deport illegal aliens, particularly criminal illegal aliens and people associated with gangs that are now classified as terrorist organizations. He said he thought Democrats like Van Hollen looked "ridiculous" standing up for Abrego Garcia more than they were standing up for American citizens.

That's really the bottom line here. That's what gets to Rachel Morin's mother, Patty. Why, when her daughter who lived in Maryland was murdered, did Van Hollen just issue a cold brief statement (blaming Republicans)? Why didn't he vote for the Laken Riley Act?

As I wrote earlier, Van Hollen doesn't want to really deal with the evidence on Abrego Garcia. He and the Democrats want to make every issue about how they can attack Trump. They don't even care about Abrego Garcia, he's just a prop for their Trump hate.

Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left's lies, new legislation wasn't needed to secure our border, just a new president.

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