Ari Melber Contrasts Past GOP Presidents Consoling in a Crisis With Trump’s Attacks During Pandemic

MSNBC’s Ari Melber contrasted how past presidents of the United States have spoken publicly about tragedy with President Donald Trump’s words amid the coronavirus pandemic.

He went through a number of examples, from Ronald Reagan’s after the Challenger disaster to the words of Lyndon Johnson after the assassination of John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush after 9/11 to Barack Obama after the Newtown shooting.

When you listen to these past presidents from both parties, there is more than a history lesson here, more than just a reminder of the way things were,” Melber said. “Just looking at this when we were putting it together and now as you’re watching it, I think it does something else. It unavoidably, obviously provides a bipartisan contrast to how the current president approaches this part of the job during this mounting death toll. How do you console and grieve with a nation that sorely needs it? President Trump largely conveys any words of public condolence at all.”

He brought up a Washington Post piece from a few weeks ago titled “13 hours of Trump: The president fills briefings with attacks and boasts, but little empathy.” One example Melber gave of comments from Trump talking about remembering the lives lost during the pandemic, he remarked, was “immediately mixed with blaming the, quote, people that caused the problem.”

“While this is not the only thing going on right now, if you do find yourself at home thinking ‘this is not normal, we should not act like this is normal,’ you’re right. It’s not,” Melber added.

You can watch above, via MSNBC.

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