CNN reporters Stephen Collinson, Jeremy Diamond and Jeff Zeleny dubbed the announcement of President Trump’s Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh as a “scripted end to Trump’s reality show.”

The CNN reporters relied on an anonymous White House source to claim that President Trump’s decision was already made Sunday, but that he was simply toying with the process to obtain mere ratings.

“A senior White House official said that the president finalized his decision on Sunday night, and called Kavanaugh to let him know. He also spoke to Vice President Mike Pence and White House Counsel Don McGahn — who had subtly pushed Kavanaugh’s candidacy. Still, with his eye, as ever on ratings, Trump did not let it be known until mid-afternoon on Monday that he had made up his mind.”

CNN used a violent metaphor to describe Trump’s bipartisan outreach to Democratic senators, even as the mainstream media has often cried for bipartisan dialogue.

“The White House had invited red-state Democratic senators to the party — twisting the knife since Trump’s selection of the mild-mannered Kavanaugh may prove tough to oppose for those up for re-election in states where Trump won big in 2016. None of them showed up,” the reporters wrote.

CNN accused Trump of typically engaging in craven publicity tactics.

“If anything, Trump’s made-for-television announcement lacked a little drama — not a criticism that can often be leveled against this spotlight-craving disrupter of a commander-in-chief,” CNN said. “The President behaved with decorum and grace, as he unveiled an utterly conventional pick that any Republican president could have made.”

CNN also reported that the smooth rollout of Kavanaugh’s announcement was an exception to a typically incompetent White House.

“Everything went off without a hitch on the night for Kavanaugh as his debut joined that of Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch in January 2017 as the most well run moments in an otherwise chaotic White House,” CNN wrote.

Without any evidence, CNN implied Kavanaugh was chosen because the judge didn’t believe “that presidents should not be distracted by lawsuits or investigations while in office.”

CNN: Trump Supreme Court Pick ‘Scripted End to Trump’s Reality Show’