Laughter on Live TV as Trump’s Strange Putin Story Leaves Hosts Struggling to Control Themselves

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough couldn’t help but burst into laughter as he recounted former President Donald Trump’s description of a supposed conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking on his ‘Morning Joe’ show on Tuesday, August 13, Scarborough joked that the description resembled a scene straight out of “Saturday Night Live’s” Wayne and Garth.

During a Monday night, August 12, discussion with X owner Elon Musk, plagued with technical issues, Trump, the GOP presidential candidate, claimed he had warned Putin against invading Ukraine.

The former president then provided an unusual recounting of their exchange. “We talked a lot about Ukraine. It was his obsession, but I told him, ‘Don’t do it, don’t do it, Vladimir. You do it, it’s going to be a bad day. You cannot do it.’ I explained what I would do, and he said, ‘No way,’ and I replied, ‘Way.'”

Scarborough and his co-host Willie Geist couldn’t hold back their amusement, likening Trump’s account to the 1982 novelty hit “Valley Girl.”

“Come on!” Scarborough exclaimed.

“A little ‘Valley Girl’ diplomacy,” Geist joked. “Wow.”

Scarborough then added, “Wasn’t that Zappa? Which Zappa? Moon Unit Zappa?” referring to the “Valley Girl” song. “Channeling Moon Unit there, pretty awesome. ‘No way!'”

Geist noted that Trump remains proud of his relationship with Putin, saying, “He just won’t let go of it. He really admires the guy.”

The conversation between Trump and Musk took place on Spaces, the streaming platform of the social network, but technical difficulties prevented many users from accessing the content.

The live event was audio-only, although a video later surfaced showing Trump seated at a table at Mar-a-Lago with a portrait of himself in a tennis sweater in the background.

Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson was among the first people to make fun of the event.

“How could you not be captivated by that image of Trump in a dimly lit room, with his distinctive hair and that bizarre portrait of him in a tennis outfit in the background? It’s surreal. It’s hard to see how that doesn’t connect with voters,” he said.

“Trump is desperate. He’s flailing around, trying to find a way to reinsert himself into the conversation. He’s just rambling into the void, saying things that are increasingly nonsensical and concerning, especially regarding his mental health.”

“Maybe he thought teaming up with Musk would help him reconnect with his base, particularly white male voters,” he added.

Robinson concluded, “But when you ramble for two hours into the void, does it even make a sound? I’m not sure it did.”