'Morning Joe' mocks Donald Trump for his 'Valley Girl' plea asking Vladimir Putin to not invade Ukraine
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' team had a field day with former president Donald Trump’s surreal retelling of his supposed warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin while asking him not to invade Ukraine.
During a glitch-riddled interview with X owner Elon Musk on Monday, August 12, Trump claimed he had sternly warned Putin against invading Ukraine, a conversation co-host Willie Geist dubbed 'Valley Girl diplomacy.'
Donald Trump claims he warned Vladimir Putin not to invade Ukraine
As Donald Trump attempted to project strength during the interview, his reenactment of the exchange—complete with a "No way! Way!" back-and-forth—was quickly ridiculed by host Scarborough and Geist.
"It's just one of those things, and we would talk a lot about Ukraine," the twice-impeached former president said. "It was the apple of his eye, but I said, 'Don't ever do it, don't ever do — you can't do it, Vladimir. You do it, it's going to be a bad day. You cannot do it.' I told him things what I'd do and he said, 'No way,' and I said, 'Way.'"
The hosts likened the exchange to Moon Unit Zappa's iconic 1982 song 'Valley Girl', mocking the childish tone Trump used in his supposed warning.
"A little 'Valley Girl' diplomacy," Geist said, as Scarborough added, "Who was that, Zappa – which Zappa, Moon Unit Zappa? 'Valley Girl'? Channeling Moon Unit there, pretty awesome. 'No way!'"
"He's so proud of his relationship with Vladimir Putin, just won't come off that position," Geist chimed. "He loves the guy."
Donald Trump ridiculed for his interview with Elon Musk
The conversation between Donald Trump and Elon Musk was marred by technical difficulties, with many users unable to access the livestream.
When the video finally surfaced, it showed Trump seated at a table at Mar-a-Lago in front of a peculiar painting of himself in a tennis sweater, a backdrop that didn’t escape ridicule from Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson.
"How could you imagine that people wouldn't resonate to that picture of that dark room with Trump's hair and that weird portrait in the tennis outfit in the background which is just -- you talk about dystopic, I don't see how that's not turning voters on," Robinson said sarcastically.
"It's driving Trump crazy. He's searching and searching and trying to find a way into the conversation because he's just sort of babbling into the void. In a lot of instances and, you know, we've seen the recent times when he goes out in public and just says nonsensical and ridiculous and worrisome things, worrisome about his own mental health."
Trump-Musk partnership called desperate bid for 'White dude vote'
Robinson also suggested that Trump’s decision to partner with Musk for the interview might have been a desperate attempt to reconnect with his base, particularly the "White dude vote."
"I guess if you want to look at it, in political terms, maybe he was trying to get back the White dude vote, or to shore it up by doing this thing with Elon Musk, figuring that that was the demographic he was going to reach."
"Boy, you know, if you sort of babble for two hours into the void, you know, does it actually make a sound?" asked Robinson, before adding, "Boy, you know, if you sort of babble for two hours into the void, you know, does it actually make a sound?"
Robinson added. "I'm not convinced that it did."
