I don’t think the official narrative implies he was naive. A senior person in an authoritarian system like that could be surrounded by “yes men” who would repe

I don’t think the official narrative implies he was naive. A senior person in an authoritarian system like that could be surrounded by “yes men” who would repeat the official Soviet lines that perhaps American supermarkets weren’t all that much different from soviet ones, or only available to the super rich, etc Perhaps they also received legitimate reports as well. An unplanned impromptu trip would be a good way to see which reports were the most accurate.