A CNN panel erupted in laughter when a MAGA podcaster desperately tried to suggest that Donald Trump being “crazy” is actually a positive.
During a typically argumentative roundtable on CNN’s NewsNight, the panelists discussed the president’s visit to China and why it may have been a good thing that he did not weigh in on the thorny issue of Taiwan during his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Bobby Ghosh, a columnist and geopolitical analyst, said Trump could not afford to ruffle feathers about the democratically governed island, which Beijing claims as its own, during the summit, and that “there’s some language you use and there’s some language you don’t use” when you are a guest in China.
Ghosh also noted that the U.S. has for decades walked a tightrope regarding Taiwan—including not officially recognizing it as its own country while still providing military support—in order to deter China from invading the island. On Wednesday, Xi issued a strongly worded statement warning Trump that the “Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations” and that any major disagreement over it could lead to the two countries having “clashes and even conflicts.”
Pro-Trump podcaster and sports reporter Emily Austin had her own take on the Beijing summit, as well as on the erratic 79-year-old president.
“First of all, Trump went on his turf in his country and sat at his place with a very warm greeting, I might add. And I really didn’t expect things to go this way, but I believe that Xi is just using the theatrics to make him look good in front of the Chinese media,” Austin said.
“But let’s be real. If there’s a big dog at any table, it’s President Donald Trump,” Austin added, prompting the first wave of laughter from journalist Charles Blow and former CNN anchor and Daily Beast editor-in-chief John Avlon.
“You may not like him, but you have to agree he is crazy, and nobody wants to mess with him.”
Blow and Avlon continued laughing as Austin doubled down on her remarks.
“In a world full of crazy, in a world full of crazies, you might just have to—” she said before being cut off.
A more subdued Ghosh suggested “that’s actually the opposite” to the idea that a president should try to be the craziest person in the room at any given time.
Austin went on to state that she agrees with the U.S. stance “on the ambiguity” when it comes to Taiwan.
“I also feel that they’re choosing that way because I don’t believe they actually think Xi will do anything,” she added. “So why create unnecessary tension for no reason?”
