‘Knew It Wouldn’t Last’: CNN’s Jeff Zeleny Mourns Trump’s ‘Kumbaya’ Moment With the Press

CNN’s Jeff Zelenyclaimed Monday that President Donald Trump’sconciliatory tone with reporters after the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was destined to unravel.

Host Manu Rajurecounted how the president “said he felt a lot of unity and love from journalists and Democrats in the ballroom, as everyone struggled to understand what was happening,” Saturday night.

“But the next night, he went on 60 Minutes and erupted,” Raju said, calling correspondent Norah O’Donnell a “disgrace” when she read part of the shooter’s manifesto referring to a “pedophile, rapist, and traitor.”

“Excuse me. I’m not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person. You should be ashamed of yourself reading that. Because I’m not any of those things,” Trump said on the broadcast.

“It sounded like a ‘kumbaya’ moment on Saturday night,” Raju said of Trump’s press conference after the shooting. “Not so much anymore.”

“Look, we’ve learned many things in the Trump era. We know that things don’t last for a long time,” Zeleny said. “And I think anyone who saw the president’s remarks in the briefing room at the White House on Saturday evening, talking about that moment of unity, knew it wouldn’t last.”

“Things are going to go back to the acrimony that is there with many presidents and many press corps. There’s no doubt,” Zeleny added.

Raju played a clip of Trump saying he thought Democrats’ “hate speech” was “very dangerous for the country,” before displaying a chart showing political violence over the last 10 years targeting both Republicans and Democrats.

“It’s not surprising that he would, you know, cherry pick the Democratic rhetoric in an instance where he was seemed to be the target, but it’s glaring,” said Politico’s Eli Stokols. “You put up that graphic and you see all these examples. You know, you think back to Melissa Hortmanbeing shot on her doorstep in Minnesota. The president didn’t have much to say about that.”

Stokols continued, “So, you know, it’s not surprising because we’ve seen it before. But his response to the rhetoric and singling out Democratic violent rhetoric and blaming only Democratic rhetoric is incredibly selective.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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