CNN commentator and former New York Representative Lee Zeldin made a mess of a simple question about political violence ahead of the first presidential debate.
When CNN’s Kasie Hunt asked Zeldin if he thought Donald Trump was “living up to what you say, that leaders should use rhetoric that discourages political violence,” Zeldin, a former New York gubernatorial candidate, talked in circles around the question, evidently still bound by the party diktat that Trump’s conduct is beyond reproach.
“Well, listen, there’s a lot that I would say, you know, as far as President Trump, what he has said, stuff that President Biden has said, that is not maybe you know, what my particular style is, but President Trump is a fighter. You know, he is, he is on offense. I’m sure he’ll be on offense again on Thursday.… Again, not just talking about what, I, my preference is for that positive, uplifting message. But I do think that a lot of people also want to see that contrast outlined. And this is high stakes. Talking about the president of the United States,” Zeldin said.
The verbal contortion act, aside from its shameless refusal to engage with Trump’s long history of encouraging political violence, was not exactly an incisive bit of analysis.
And Zeldin, who unsuccessfully ran against current New York Governor Kathy Hochul to replace Andrew Cuomo, should know the implications of violent political rhetoric better than most; he was attacked while giving a speech on the campaign trail in 2022. Party loyalty, however, seems to have overridden firsthand experience.
