As a bald statement explicit empathy would (perhaps correctly in a political context) be confused for endorsement. That does not imply a lack of empathy: https:

As a bald statement explicit empathy would (perhaps correctly in a political context) be confused for endorsement. That does not imply a lack of empathy: https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2009/5/18/732785/- https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2009/5/18/732785/- (Ignore the partisan commentary please, I am only linking for the quotes which do demonstrate this.)