A CNN panel discussion descended into chaos with a heated spat over President Trump’s upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The bedlam began on NewsNight With Abby Phillip when conservative analyst Scott Jennings—who said he was prepared to give Trump some “latitude” to talk to Putin—was challenged by commentator Tara Setmayer over his claim that Trump has “solved, like, seven conflicts this year.”
“What reality do you live in?” Jennings said, heckling Setmayer—the co-founder of the Seneca Project and former Republican who has vocally criticized Trump—as she tried to make her point. As Setmayer said that Trump appears to have “an affinity for Vladimir Putin,” Jennings cut in with: “Lying!”
His response irked Setmayer, who fired back: “No, you’re not going to get away with calling me a liar.”
“I know that’s like the line you like to throw out, but I’m not lying, nobody’s lying about anything. You can ask the countries who were involved in this whether Donald Trump actually solved those conflicts or whether it was pomp and circumstance.”
She also said Trump had been a “useful idiot for Russia for years,” prompting right-wing talk show host Ben Ferguson to cut in with: “Is Biden a useful idiot?”
Trying to restore order, host Abby Phillip asked Ferguson about Trump’s approach to negotiations with Putin over the Ukraine war, which Trump had said he could end in 24 hours when he returned to office.
“[Trump] wants to be a peacemaker. He wants the Nobel Peace Prize, that whole thing,” Phillip said. “And this has been elusive largely because Vladimir Putin is not that interested in the deal. He’s not. So is Trump going into this a little bit naive, thinking that Putin is actually ready to deal when what he really wants is complete victory?”
“This is the part that I think is really just sad, is that there’s people sitting at this table who clearly want this to be a failure,” Ferguson said.
“Where are those people?” asked Setmayer, to which Ferguson responded: “I think you’re one of them.”
Setmayer reacted furiously to the accusation, telling the guest: “What? Don’t you put words in my mouth. I never said that. We want him to negotiate from a position of strength, not bringing a war criminal onto U.S. soil, and-”
Ferguson tried to cut her off and get back on track, but instead found his confrontational tone thrown back in his face. “Oh, I‘m not allowed to interrupt you, but you can interrupt me and overtalk?” Setmayer asked. Phillip then intervened to end the exchange because of all the “bickering.”
Trump has had limited success in his self-appointed role as a “peacemaker” throughout his second term.
Trump and his supporters have cited his role in diplomatic efforts between Thailand and Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and Egypt and Ethiopia. The president’s claim that he helped negotiate an end to the India-Pakistan conflict has been dismissed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and his attempts to impose ceasefires in Ukraine and Gaza have fallen apart almost immediately.
The president will meet with Putin in Alaska on Friday to discuss a potential end to the war in Ukraine, despite the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the negotiating table still being uncertain.
Speaking to reporters about the meeting on Monday, Trump said: “We’re going to try to get some of that territory back for Ukraine,” claiming the two countries would engage in “some swapping, changes in land.”
Russia currently occupies large areas of Ukraine, including much of its eastern territories and the Crimea peninsula. Putin has kept up his attacks on Ukraine as the summit with Trump approaches.
