CNN's Brian Stelter 'gutted' by coronavirus, Trump's response, 'crawled in bed and cried for our pre-pandemic lives'

CNN media critic Brian Stelter "hit a wall" and had an emotional breakdown last weekend over coronavirus fears and dismay over President Donald Trump's leadership during the pandemic.

The "Reliable Sources" host admitted that his overwhelming emotions caused him to miss his newsletter deadline Friday night for the first time in years.

"Last night, I hit a wall," Stelter tweeted Saturday. "Gutted by the death toll. Disturbed by the govt's shortcomings. Dismayed by political rhetoric that bears no resemblance to reality. Worried about friends who are losing jobs; kids who are missing school; and senior citizens who are living in fear.

"I crawled in bed and cried for our pre-pandemic lives," he added. "Tears that had been waiting a month to escape. I wanted to share because it feels freeing to do so. Now is not a time for faux-invincibility. Journos are living this, hating this, like everyone else."

Though Stelter didn't mention the president by name in his tweets, he did specifically mention Trump several times in his Saturday newsletter.

In the newsletter, Stelter castigated Trump's "ever-changing position" on the coronavirus pandemic and designated a segment to the apparent disparity between the president's characterization of the pandemic and the state of things in local municipalities across the country.

"Scrolling through the Newseum's gallery of newspaper front pages, the # of headlines about Trump's antics and 'reopening' plans are vastly outnumbered by the daily reality of the virus. The front pages serve as a reality check to Trump's unreality," he argued.

'It's okay to not be okay right now'

Then, during his Sunday show, Stelter repeated the message that he shared on Twitter the day before. This time he added that "it's okay to not be okay right now."

"All of us are grieving, whether we sense it or not. All of us have lost something in the past few weeks, some have suffered the ultimate loss of a father, or mother or spouse or relative. Others have lost livelihoods, they lost access to family and friends," Stelter said. "I tried to bottle it all up; I guess I was trying to be stoic for my wife and kids, it wasn't until this Friday night that I hit a wall."

Stelter encouraged people who are experiencing emotions not to bottle them up like he did, but to talk about them, and even use social media to do so. He said that after crying and opening up on social media, he felt better.

"Almost everyone is experiencing isolation or stress or anxiety or other emotions, as a result of this crisis," he added. "[But] it's okay to not be okay right now."

(H/T: Fox News)