CNN Analyst Defends John Kerry for Being on Yacht During Egypt Coup: 'To Be Fair...He Has Been Going Through a Grueling Time

CNN analyst David Gergen said Secretary of State John Kerry should be given a break for being on his yacht while crisis was unfolding in Egypt.

Gergen, a former White House adviser to Presidents Clinton, Reagan, Ford and Nixon, said the State Department "blew it" by first denying a CBS producer's report that Kerry was on his boat, only to have to turn around and admit otherwise after photos emerged.

Image source: Boston Herald

"It was not right to do it that way, but to be fair to Secretary Kerry, he has been going through a grueling time," Gergen said Saturday. "He just came back from a 15-day trip to the Middle East."

Gergen cited a Boston Globe report saying Kerry has spent more time meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the last four months than his predecessor Hillary Clinton did in four years.

"If he wants to go out with his grandson on the yacht for an hour, more power to him, give him a break, it's a good thing," Gergen said. "He needs a break after these four, five trips to the Middle East. This is a guy who is really trying to shape American interests and to bring more order and stability and more moderation to the Middle East so I think he deserves a break on this."