Jesse Brenneman is a reporter on a road trip to discover Trump Country. Last week he left New York City and started his journey to Montana. Along the way, he hopes to learn more about the strange denizens living outside the progressive bubble. It started with this tweet reflecting on the 2016 election:

Why are Americans so polarized? What really happened in the 2016 election? I’m leaving my liberal bubble to get some answers. pic.twitter.com/OClhEqRseC

— Jesse Brenneman (@Jesse_Brenneman) August 8, 2018

That made me laugh, not just because it’s silly but because it nails the ‘Gorillas in the Mist’ style of journalism we’ve seen so many times from the left. The character Jesse is playing here seems to have his mind made up about what people in Trump country are like, even if reality doesn’t always support his conclusions:

Radio in Trump Country. pic.twitter.com/xmzvcVfdFx

— Jesse Brenneman (@Jesse_Brenneman) August 8, 2018

Waves of smug superiority roll off him as he continues his journey, though of course, he’s completely unaware of it: “Here in Pennsylvania, everyone eats at the travel rest stop.”

Dining in Trump Country. pic.twitter.com/FVI6s9oPxh

— Jesse Brenneman (@Jesse_Brenneman) August 8, 2018

Again, he’s nailed the reporter-goes-outside-the-bubble genre with these deep thoughts:

Wow. Absolutely humbled by the responses to my first day as a big city journalist in Trump Country. Lots to think about. More dispatches tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/onvlBhJ7BK

— Jesse Brenneman (@Jesse_Brenneman) August 9, 2018

About as insightful as most left-wing media criticism:

Day two! Back on the road and out of my bubble. But what about other bubbles? Started the day by looking at the media in Trump Country. pic.twitter.com/DiGGrGBWHB

— Jesse Brenneman (@Jesse_Brenneman) August 9, 2018

Like Jim Acosta, Brenneman also experiences some close calls with potentially violent Trump supporters:

Stopped to get gas and had a close call. 😬 pic.twitter.com/I19QPUyZ6u

— Jesse Brenneman (@Jesse_Brenneman) August 9, 2018

Jesse is unnerved but encouraged to go on by a precocious 3-year-old of the type that seems to crop up on woke Twitter all the time:

Nonetheless, I’ll be back tomorrow, because, as one three year old told me today, “This is the work that needs to be done [if] our republic is going to survive.”

— Jesse Brenneman (@Jesse_Brenneman) August 9, 2018

Tragedy strikes:

Day Four, getting off to a bittersweet note: forgot I had tickets to see Hamilton again last night! 😫

On the up side, my editor went and recorded it all on his phone for me. Not as good as live, but could give me the chance to play it for a Trump Voter! Blessing in disguise?

— Jesse Brenneman (@Jesse_Brenneman) August 11, 2018

Some of the differences outside the bubble are just shocking:

You know you’re outside your liberal bubble when you run into one of these! pic.twitter.com/Ai1mcfcKbd

— Jesse Brenneman (@Jesse_Brenneman) August 11, 2018

This whole thing is pretty much how I imagine a road trip with the guys from Vox would go: “God it’s another oil derrick. It’s depressing…Oh, we do need to get gas though.”

Not much to see in this part of Trump Country and that can get boring. But it’s also time to think, which, for a writer like me, is essential. pic.twitter.com/RlKI5yF9Um

— Jesse Brenneman (@Jesse_Brenneman) August 13, 2018

Best I can tell Jesse Brenneman is (or was) a New York public radio producer and is a somewhat liberal person in real life. But his satire really nails some of the left’s lack of self-awareness and insular thinking in these clips. There’s room for a good satirical book from this perspective. Maybe he’s the person to write it.