WATCH: CNN’s Jeff Zeleny Asks Psaki How ‘Voting Rights Failure’ Is Anything But ‘Metaphor’ for Biden’s First Year in Office

CNN’s Jeff Zeleny trivialized a momentous issue when he suggested to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki that “the voting rights failure” can’t be seen as anything but a “metaphor” for President Joe Biden’s first year in office.

Psaki briefed reporters on Monday afternoon, one day ahead of the president’s first formal press conference of 2022. As is often the case with events that entice TV people who aren’t on the White House beat to parachute into the briefing room to secure a clip of their hot take bouncing off the press secretary, Zeleny dragged his Garth Algar-looking mug to the White House to say something stupid.

“And heading into the president’s press conference tomorrow on the eve of his one year anniversary, he has long said that he would talk straight from the shoulder, I think is his words, and to give an honest assessment of things,” Zeleny prefaced, then asked, “What is your honest assessment of the last year of the Biden administration?”

I’m gonna stop here for a second to point out what a tell this first part of the question is, because honestly, what is the premise here? That Psaki is gonna suddenly go rogue and be like “Jeff, thank God you asked!” and go off on a rant, throw her 80-pound briefing book up in the air and peel out for parts unknown? Not only is she Biden’s literal spokesperson, she’s also a true believer in the Biden agenda.

It’s just a way for Zeleny to try to look and sound serious — something they all do, but not nearly this clumsily. But I digress.

“And how can the voting rights failure not be seen as some type of a metaphor for these challenges?” Zeleny concluded.

Psaki didn’t bat an eye and gave exactly the response that a better person than I would give.

“Well, I would say in terms of voting rights, his view is that it’s never a good idea not to shoot for the moon with what your proposals are and what you’re fighting for. And the alternative is to fight for nothing, and to fight for nothing hard.”

Psaki gave a little more in the way of previewing what the president might say at the press conference tomorrow, and calmly moved on.

So here are some of the problems with this.

First, Zeleny, like every other CNN anchor and reporter I’ve heard over the past several days, assumes that voting rights will fail. Go search the CNN transcripts page for the phrase “certain to fail.”

As political opinion, you could argue that’s fair — based on public statements, which, if they hold, make passage of the bills extremely unlikely.

But the fact is that the Senate is set to debate and vote on the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, as well as rule changes that would allow them to pass with a simple majority.

The entire point of the debate and the votes is the prospect, however unlikely, that Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, might change their minds and allow an exception to the filibuster, and/or that one or more Republican senators might change their minds when faced with casting a vote against the sacred right to vote in front of God and posterity. And failing that, to put them all on record casting a vote against the sacred right to vote in front of God and posterity.

Calling failure “certain” is not just inaccurate, it is itself obstructive, absolving 52 adults of the expectation that they might ever bend the arc of history toward justice.

And second, Zeleny trivializes a momentous historical issue — one which resonates all the louder as the nation celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday — into a metaphor for a tough political year.

It’s just the latest grossly privileged take from a CNN personality too far removed from the struggle they’re supposed to be covering to know a God-damned thing about it.

Watch above via C-SPS.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.