But if you can't actually convey compassion for human suffering when speaking off the cuff without prepared comments, then it's not a great decision to try.

So well said! Trump has said virtually everything under the sun at some point, so there's always some quote someone can point to and say "See, he said the right thing".

But if you look at the total picture--his actions, the "vibe" you get when you listen to him, the follow-up--his words ring hollow.

Compassion for human suffering from Trump? You don't have to look far to find that dial on zero. It's shown virtually every day just on this board.

The most obvious example is his notorious January 6 pre-riot speech, where among so many other less benevolent statements he did slip in "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."

But then, when push literally came to shove, and police officers trying to maintain peace were being assaulted--everyone knows what happened--what did Trump actually do? Nothing. Wait, check that--he sat and watched it on TV. That's what he did. The one man who probably had the power to stop the violence just by saying something, just by asking them to stop, said nothing. For a couple of hours. He sat and watched on TV. Compassion for human suffering? Ask Mike Pence about that.

This is in America--his own country. And people want to argue that he has compassion for Ukrainians and Russians, beyond their political leaders and how could they help him achieve still more power? Yeah, right.