CNN's Anderson Cooper blasts Trump for one of history's 'most disgraceful performances by an American president'

Anderson Cooper.
(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/TPM Livewire)

He may not have been on camera, but Anderson Cooper couldn't hide his displeasure with Monday's U.S.-Russia meeting.

The second President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shook hands after a post-summit press conference, the CNN anchor slammed the American president. "You have been watching perhaps one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president at a summit in front of a Russian leader that I've ever seen," Cooper declared.

Cooper's harsh words came in response to a joint press conference with Putin and Trump, held Monday after the two leaders held a closed-door meeting. Both Trump and Putin disputed claims of Russian meddling in American elections during the conference, with Putin vehemently denying interference in 2016 and Trump refusing to believe American intelligence over Putin. Instead of holding Putin accountable for alleged interference, Trump pivoted to his favorite topic: Hillary Clinton's emails.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Cooper called out Trump for fixating on this one topic, "like in Rain Man," where Dustin Hoffman plays the title character with autism.

Which may not have been the most thoughtful comparison to make. Cooper's CNN colleague John King, meanwhile, said Trump's meeting with Putin amounted to a "Surrender Summit."

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.