"You gotta thank the Lord," CNN reporter Wolf Blitzer said to an Oklahoma tornado survivor as she cradled her toddler, surrounded by ruins of her street. Awkward pause. The woman is an atheist.
The veteran CNN journalist was interviewing Rebecca Vitsmum, who fled her home with her 19-month old son, just before the tornado in Moore flattened her home.
Speaking to Vitsmum, he said: "We're happy you're here. You guys did a great job. You've gotta thank the Lord, right? Do you thank the Lord for that split-second decision?"
It might be the first time Vitsmum smiled since losing her entire home. "I - I'm actually an atheist," she said, laughing off the awkward moment.
"You are. All right. But you made the right call," Blitzer said.
"We are here, and I don't blame anyone for thanking the Lord," Vitsmum said.
Her young son also seemed less than interested in religiosity, preferring to play with Blitzer's microphone, refusing to hand it back over to the beleaguered reporter.