On Wednesday’s edition of New Day, hosts Alisyn Camerota and John Berman spent a large amount of the program analyzing the ongoing NATO summit. Some of the coverage descended into silliness and absurdity, including two moments when Berman carefully dissected Chief of Staff John Kelly’s hydration habits.
In the first hour, Berman brought up Kelly’s demeanor in a clip where President Trump was criticizing Germany for its energy dependence on Russia. In the clip, Kelly takes a sip of water, adjusts himself in is seat, and scratches his ear. According to Berman and CNN Senior Political Analyst, John Avlon, this was a sign of extreme discomfort with the situation:
BERMAN: So you see, John Kelly There, you see Mike Pompeo both siting their stoically, Kate Bailey Hutchinson, I’m not sure they’re down with this whole thing.
JOHN AVLON: Stoically? Yeah I mean look, John Kelly was one shot away from a spit take and a face palm.
This was not the first time CNN thought someone staying hydrated made a profound statement. In 2013, the cable channel wondered if Florida Senator Marco Rubio taking a sip of water during his response to President Obama's State of the Union address was a "career-ender."
On Wednesday, Berman found the clip of Kelly so compelling, he brought it up again during the second hour. The anchor echoed his analysis from the first hour with Camerota, joking that the top Trump aide was drinking vodka:
BERMAN: I want you to look at their faces, and look at how many drinks of water --
ALISYN CAMEROTA: That’s vodka.
BERMAN: -- the Chief of Staff needs --
CAMEROTA: That’s vodka.
BERMAN: -- while the President is talking about this.
TRUMP: you tell me if that's appropriate, because I think it's not. And I think it's a very bad thing for NATO.
BERMAN: You see, John Kelly there you know, shrugging --
CAMEROTA: I like a good body language segment.
BERMAN: Looked away he’s like “Oh boy here we go again.” You know, you get the sense that they were not comfortable with the president's views on this alliance.
Berman clearly demonstrated that his eagerness to find anything negative to say about the Trump administration extends to things as small as John Kelly having the gall to take a sip of water during breakfast. The silliness of this coverage is best suited for tabloid papers not “the most trusted name in news.”
