Since when did CNN reporter Jeff Zeleny become an amateur psychologist who can somehow determine the mental attitude of someone from a distance? Tuesday afternoon, Zeleny did his best to win CNN fake news accolades from his bosses by claiming that President Trump somehow displayed very little empathy for the victims of Hurricane Harvey.
As you can see in the following video from his report today, Zeleny begins his sliming by telling anchor Brianna Keilar that Trump was acting as if he were talking to a campaign crowd:
So Brianna, at least that clip there in early remarks that he made almost sounds as though he was coming to a small campaign rally of sorts. And that, of course, is not what he is here in Texas for. He has had a variety of serious meetings with the governor of Texas. He’ll be arriving here at the state emergency command center behind me within the next several minutes or so. He’s also traveling with the two Republican senators, a few members of his cabinet also on board.
Zeleny was just getting warmed up with his sliming act by conjuring up that Trump sounded as if he were at a campaign rally. He then went into high gear by somehow getting into the President's head to determine that he showed very little empathy:
Zeleny: But Brianna, one thing I am struck by here, seeing all the stories of emotion, all the stories of loss, of devastation still unfolding. We do not know the extent of the damage here. Very little in terms of empathy from this president. Very little in terms of emotion or talking directly to the people of Texas. He’s been talking about the businesses, talking about the response and his crowd. Certainly this is a test, a new moment for this president. How he’ll ultimately be judged, Brianna, as every president is in a disaster like this, is not on today, it’s on the response and the recovery and how Texas rebuilds if they get federal funds, et cetera, months, on today, it’s on the response and the recovery and how Texas rebuilds if they get federal funds, et cetera, months, perhaps even years, from now.
Very unprofessional, Jeff. It is not your job as a reporter to somehow determine what the President's attitude is. Perhaps Zeleny thought it was just a way to ensure his continued employment at CNN. See, I can also pretend to determine your attitude from a distance.
