Maggie Haberman Warns Trump Trip To Train Disaster Site Could Backfire: ‘He’s Not Known For His Empathy To Begin With’
New York Times correspondent, best-selling author, and CNN analyst Maggie Haberman told CNN hosts that ex-President Donald Trump’s trip to tour the Ohio train disaster could backfire, noting “he’s not known for his empathy to begin with.”
Trump announced last week that he would be visiting the site of the East Palestine, Ohio train disaster, even as he joined others who have criticized President Joe Biden over the federal response to the derailment and its aftermath.
On Wednesday morning’s edition of CNN This Morning, Haberman joined co-anchors Don Lemon and Poppy Harlow to discuss a number of issues, including Trump’s trip.
Haberman and Harlow accused Trump of “capitalizing” politically on the disaster, but Haberman warned it was “dicey” to insert himself and casually harpooned his capacity for human feeling:
POPPY HARLOW: Let’s switch gears here, because former President Trump is going to Ohio today. East Palestine, to be specific, the site of the toxic train wreck in a county where he won more than 70% of the vote in 2020. And as Nikki Haley is criticizing Biden for not going the transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg hasn’t been yet. Trump capitalizing on that?
MAGGIE HABERMAN: Yeah, I mean, if this was not a Trump plus 20 district, as you just said, I don’t think you would be seeing him there. If this was anything that was, you know, much closer electorally.
He has been looking for opportunities to put himself in the news cycle. We were just talking about fundraising and money that he’s raised. His campaign has not raised a ton of money. And that is part of why you are not seeing him do big rallies, because those are very expensive.
So he’s looking for ways to put himself in and look as if he’s, you know, a contrasting president with President Biden. It can be very dicey when people show up, when they have no actual role in a disaster. And so he’s not known for his empathy to begin with. So we will see how this visit goes.
POPPY HARLOW: Yeah.
Watch above via CNN This Morning.
