Death of Qassem Soleimani inspires predictably stupid behavior from media

CNN, for example, alerted its more than 3 million followers on Twitter Friday afternoon with a headline that reads, “President Trump dined on ice cream as news of the airstrike broke.”

I promise you this is a real headline published by a real news organization. If you can believe it, the accompanying report is even dumber than the news alert.

“As news broke that the US struck and killed Qasem Soleimani, President Trump was dining at his Mar-a-Lago club, surrounded by old friends and others like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy,” reads the opening portion to CNN’s live updates. “As meatloaf and ice cream were served, the Pentagon confirmed that the US was behind the strikes, the only statement from the administration throughout the night.”

In other words, the president ate dinner long after the U.S. operation to take out Soleimani had taken place. CNN is reporting that the president had dinner at the same time that reporters learned of the Iranian general’s targeted killing. News you can use.

Amazingly, the CNN update continues, adding that the “scene Friday was similar to the one after Trump gave the order for American forces to carry out the missile strike on a Syrian airfield in the spring 2017.” It goes on:

Then, there is CNN reporter Jim Acosta, who tweeted an excerpt from President Trump’s remarks Friday on Soleimani’s death followed by his own uniquely vapid brand of analysis: “Trump: ‘We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war.’ (Not how the Iranians see this).”

Jim Acosta, Iran whisperer.

This is not the behavior of a serious newsroom. This is the behavior of an activist group with press credentials.

Over at the Washington Post, things were slightly less embarrassing.

“Breaking news: Airstrike at Baghdad airport kills Iran’s most revered military leader, Qasem Soleimani, Iraqi state television reports,” the Post reported in a breaking news headline.

I suppose “revered” is a step up from “austere religious scholar,” but that is not saying much.

Maybe the Post’s tweeted headline can be forgiven. Chalk it up to clumsy word choice. What is unforgivable, however, is that the accompanying report, titled “In major escalation, American strike kills top Iranian commander in Baghdad,” waits 16 whole paragraphs before mentioning anything about Soleimani’s terrorist activities. That is what we call burying the lede.

Lastly, because it stands out as uniquely gross, there is New York Times reporter Farnaz Fassihi, who shared a video Friday morning seeking to humanize Soleimani.

“Rare personal video of Gen. Suleimani reciting poetry shared by a source in #Iran. About friends departing & him being left behind,” she tweeted.

The video indeed shows the late terrorist tyrant reciting poetry. How touching. I may weep.

Fassihi said later after she caught plenty of well-deserved grief for her Soleimani-humanizing tweets: “Folks attacking me for sharing this video: It’s called reporting. It’s not an endorsement or sympathy. I share whatever info I get for all to see. That’s all.”

Yes, and the Fuhrer was a terrific dancer. Not many people know that.