The Atlantic

Even on Fox, Trump’s Helsinki Performance Was ‘Ridiculous’ and ‘Surreal’

The president found no safe harbor on his favorite network after his controversial press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Source: Lucas Jackson / Reuters

Updated at 10:29 p.m. ET

When Donald Trump stood side by side with Russian President Vladimir Putin and announced that he was taking Putin’s word over that of his own intelligence community, talking heads spun on cable news. And rightfully so.

On CNN, Anderson Cooper called Trump’s performance “.” Cooper’s face was noticeably cringing and his voice was shaking. John King called the event “.” Dana Bash “asked the questions of Vladimir Putin that the president of the United States failed to do.”

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