Trump Fans on CNN Draw Smiles With Pro-Trump Spin on Hot Mic Moment

Trump defenders Joe Borelli and Rob Bluey drew smiles on CNN with their pro-Trump takes on President Donald Trump’s hot mic moment during a White House event with world leaders.

The president held high-stakes talks at the White House Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, including a series of White House photo ops. The meetings come days after Trump rolled out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin in an effort to secure a deal.

Just before the press was permitted in for the European leaders photo op, Trump was caught on a hot mic telling someone his thoughts on Putin:

I think he wants to make a deal for me. Do you understand that? As crazy as it sounds.

Sit down. Sit down, everybody. I think we’ll let the press come in for a minute.

That moment instantly went viral.

On Monday’s edition of CNN NewsNight, anchor Abby Phillip discussed the moment with a panel comprised of Bakari Sellers, Joe Borelli, Christine Quinn, Rob Bluey, Josh Rogin, and Sam Seder.

Phillip suggested the moment was indicative of Trump’s “abiding view in the, I guess, the goodness of Putin and his desire to do something nice for him” and was visibly amused at Bluey’s and Borelli’s takes:

PHILLIP: Trump also has this ever abiding view in the, I guess, the goodness of Putin and his desire to do something nice for him. There was a hot mic moment that was caught. Let’s play it for you. And listen very closely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think he wants to make a deal for me. You understand that? As crazy as it sounds,

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: I think he wants to do a deal for me. Putin doesn’t want to do anything for Donald Trump. He wants to do things for Putin. So, why does Trump continue to believe that there is something — I don’t know. I mean, Putin is trying to do him a solid.

BLUEY: Well, as you heard him say, I mean, he’s very proud of the six other deals, the peace deals that he’s helped broker, and let’s not forget the Abraham Accords from his first term. I mean, Donald Trump has a history of bringing peace to these countries that have been warring for years. And so why would he not want to engage directly with Vladimir Putin.

PHILLIP: Because you think that Putin — he thinks that Putin wants to help him get his Nobel Peace Prize? Is that the idea?

QUINN: Look, the reality is here Putin is a KGB-trained, that’s true individual. He knows how to play people who are hard to play. And it’s not hard to play Donald Trump. If you compliment him, if you suck up to him, if you tell him he’s smart, he’s effective, blah, blah, blah, you play him like a fiddle.

And this is a guy who knows how to do that. And, clearly, he did it in Alaska because he thinks one of the worst people in the world is out of the goodness of his heart of stone going to give Donald Trump a deal to help him.

BORELLI: But he doesn’t believe that. He even said in the context of that comment —

QUINN: He said it on the hot mic.

BORELLI: In the context of that comment, you heard him say, I think he wants to make a deal for me. Do you have any idea how crazy that is?

ROGIN: It does sound like —

BORELLI: But that was the — it wasn’t like Trump was fooled by Putin. Trump was actually pointing out that he, in fact, was not fooled by him.

PHILLIP: Wait. I’m confused. Are you saying that Trump believes it or he doesn’t believe it?

BORELLI: The context he spoke to, I believe —

PHILLIP: This unbelievable thing that no one would really believe is actually happening, is actually doing him a favor.

BORELLI: Based on what he said.

PHILLIP: If he actually believes that, then he’s taking the bait.

BORELLI: But based on what he said that you all heard just three seconds earlier on the hot mic, he’s saying, do you have any idea how crazy that is?

QUINN: It’s so crazy, you wouldn’t repeat it.

BORELLI: He’s not validating the point. He’s challenging the point.

SELLERS: But why does — let me ask you a question.

ROGIN: And that’s obvious.

Watch above via CNN NewsNight.