In the wee small hours of Tuesday morning CNN reporter Omar Jimenez was standing amidst a fiery violent out-of-control riot in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

CNN is quite aware Republicans are scoring points at their convention with attacks against Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and violent riots in general. So the word must have come down from on high: No matter if an A-bomb explodes within view of the camera, the situation is “peaceful.”

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CNN took it a bit too far and then paid for it. As Jimenez was standing in front of the wild conflagration, the chyron at the bottom of the screen read, “FIERY BUT MOSTLY PEACEFUL PROTESTS AFTER POLICE SHOOTING.”

Fiery but mostly…peaceful? Was the firebombing of Dresden fiery but mostly serene? Is the Marianas Trench deep but mostly shallow? Is Joe Biden cripplingly confused with daily life but mostly a genius?

Such must be the panic at CNN that this type of absurdity is now considered standard operating procedure. Conservatives were sure to pounce.

“Clowns. Irresponsible clowns. It’s not even funny. Months of enabling violence and destruction by ignoring and downplaying it, thereby eliminating any pressure on politicians to take action,” wrote A.G. Hamilton.

“‘Fiery but mostly peaceful protest’ is so absurd that if it were satire you’d think it was lazy and unimaginative,” National Republican Senatorial Committee staffer Matt Whitlock wrote.

“The phrase ‘beyond parody’ doesn’t begin to describe this,” Matt Walsh chimed in.

But this is far from the first time CNN has plumbed the depths of unintentional comedy and conservative schadenfreude. In May, CNN reporter and Bolshevik agitprop pawn Ali Veshi broadcast this unforgettable moment: “I want to be clear on how I characterize this. This is mostly a protest. It is not, generally speaking, unruly but fires have been started and this crowd is relishing that.”

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So Velshi admits that capering throngs of slack-jawed rioters are “relishing” the flames, but it’s not “unruly.” Just how does one set fires during violent riots, savor the burning destruction yet still stay within a Miss Porter’s definition of proper public etiquette?

On Tuesday, CNN similarly provided guffaws with yet another graphic that read, “8PM CURFEW ORDERED AFTER VIOLENT PROTESTS OVER POLICE SHOOTING OF UNARMED BLACK MAN IN WISCONSIN.” Someone in the control room must have forgotten the golden rule of CNN riot coverage, as the message was removed and replaced about five seconds later without the word “violent.”

As the GOP and the president make ground every time a violent riot occurs, it’s a wonder CNN is covering them at all. When they do, watching suburban moms and single women, prized voting blocs, may be wondering what means more to them: The president’s occasional verbal indiscretions, per their own views, or the threat to the physical safety of themselves and their families?

When CNN tries to cover up that threat with absurd nonsensical reporting, it only plays right into the president’s hands. After all, the suburbs burn just as easily as does a downtown.