meaning of the phrase "cited a feeble desire"

[Klpno]

Hi everyone

This time I'd like to ask a question about the phrase "cited a feeble desire" in the following context:

Most reporters kept the cam going all the time, figuring hey could just carve out the good stuff in the editing room. Jasmine usually cited a feeble desire to conserve battery power, but the truth of the matter was she hated the editing process, and tried to keep it as simple as possible.

I understand that she referred to her desire to conserve battery energy as a reason for her not wanting to keep the cam going all the time. What is unclear to me is why the desire was feeble. Does it imply that the way she said it (that she wanted to conserve battery energy) was feeble?

[Yankee]

Hi KLPNO

I'd say that the rest of the sentence provides the key to what the author meant. My interpretation is that the author intended to indicate that the content of Jasmine's explanation was feeble. In other words, Jasmine's explanation about why she didn't keep the cameras going was not very good or convincing.

This explanation wasn't convincing because it was not actually the primary reason. The primary reason was simply that she didn't like editing.

That's my take. Others may have different ideas.
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[Klpno]

Thank you very much, Amy. I think that your take is the correct one because further in the book the author says about her laziness.