There was nothing glorious about President Trump’s short speech Monday morning in reaction to the massacre that unfolded Sunday night in Las Vegas. There was plenty of language that has become grimly standard in situations like this one: “My fellow Americans, we are joined together today in sadness, shock and grief,” said the president. He went on to thank law enforcement for their quick actions. And he searched for optimism. “It is our love that defines us today and always will forever,” Trump said. Also: “Our bonds cannot be broken by violence.”

Nor was there anything embarrassing or dismal about the presentation. No big blunders, though the speech had that hollow feel that accompanies scripted presentations from Trump.

It was just fine.

On CNN, though, it was a marvel of possibly historic proportions. “Look, pitch perfect from the president right there,” said John King, anchor and chief national correspondent for CNN. “I’m sure already there are some people out there because of the polarized environment we live in who won’t like something they heard or won’t trust something they heard or won’t find truthfulness or credibility in something their president just said. I would hope that they would take a breath and let the president have his peace here, in the sense that he came out, he said he wanted to unify the country.”

There was no asterisk on King’s words to indicate that he was grading on the curve. Nor does the “polarized environment” bear the blame for the president’s lack of credibility. His lies and untruths do.