You could visualize CNN This Morning host Audie Cornish in the green room, prepping her panelists for today's show.
"So, Trump's had a few good weeks. Worked out ceasefires between India and Pakistan, and Thailand and Cambodia. Did a bunch of trade deals, and is coming off a successful trip to Scotland in which he and von der Leyen announced a deal for a 15% tariff on most EU exports to the US, and an EU commitment to purchase $750 billion worth of U.S. energy exports. Sucks, I know. So guys, want you to get to work from the go undercutting his achievements."
That's what CNN sounded like today, dismissing any potential achievement as a phantom.
First up was CNN chief domestic correspondent Phil Mattingly, who condemned Trump's ribbon-cutting at his latest golf course as "completely an anathema to what we think a U.S. president should be doing."
Anathema? Defined as "Something intensely disliked or loathed; an ecclesiastical curse accompanied by excommunication."
Strong stuff, Phil! An anathema in CNN's eyes, but guessing most Americans will yawn at it, and millions of golfers might say, "Cool course: like to play it someday!"
Mattingly then tried to undercut Trump's peacemaking moves:
"He has been able to get on the phone with people and kind of jawbone various conflicts into pauses for a time. None of those, though, have really been long-lasting."
Cornish piped up to agree: "Pauses for a time. I see what you mean. Like India-Pakistan?"
In fact, the India-Pakistan ceasefire appears to be holding. And even as of this morning, the AP is reporting: "Thailand and Cambodia ceasefire holds."
CNN commentator Jonah Goldberg piled on, dismissing Trump's peacemaking efforts as "the stopping-all-the-wars thing," claiming it's "a function of the fact that he's obsessed with getting the Nobel Peace Prize." Sounds like a pretty good thing to be obsessed with, even if it sounds unlikely. Those socialist Scandinavians on the Nobel committee would surely set the bar high for Trump, in contrast with having awarded the prize to Obama less than eight months into his presidency, when he had achieved precisely bupkus.
Goldberg suggested that the trade deals may not be as beneficial for the US or as stringent on our trading partners as people might think. He speculated that foreign leaders are falsely claiming they got "rolled" by Trump as a means of flattering him, and avoiding having the US reopen negotiations to toughen terms.
Cornish piled on, ending the segment by claiming that the deal with Japan is "sort of falling apart between their fingers." Nice finishing touch, Audie!
Here's the transcript.
CNN This Morning
7/29/25
6:10 am EDTAUDIE CORNISH: President Trump once again mixing business with pleasure. Right now he's wrapping up his UK trip by playing the first round of golf at his newest property in Scotland. He held a grand opening in the past hour and after that he says it's back to Washington. The morning caps a whirlwind weekend for the president. He put the finishing touches on a trade deal with the European Union. He met with the British Prime Minister, issued a new ultimatum to Russia, and applied pressure on Israel.
. . .
I actually want to start with you, Phil, just because of that very extensive and wide-ranging press conference that, I guess, part one, the Starmers were sort of part of, and then it extended.
For you, was there anything that took precedence beyond his cross-promotion, right, for the new golf course?
PHIL MATTINGLY: Look, I --
CORNISH: He was saying that a bunch of wars have been stopped, so I want to get some sense of what you're thinking.
MATTINGLY: I think when you see the large golden scissors and the ribbon-cutting, I do think, credit where it's due, he multitasks, right? He goes on these trips, and yes, what he's doing today is completely an anathema to what we think a U.S. president should be doing, but he does many things on these trips. He's very capable of that.
It is true that throughout the course of his six-and-a-half months in office, he has been able to get on the phone with people and kind of jawbone various conflicts into pauses for a time. None of those, though, have really been long-lasting.
CORNISH: Pauses for a time. I see what you mean. Like India-Pakistan?
MATTINGLY: Exactly.
CORNISH: Okay.
. . .
JONAH GOLDBERG: And the stopping-all-the-wars thing, that's a function of the fact that he's obsessed with getting a peace prize, Nobel Peace Prize, and he thinks he can instill this idea that he's stopped all these wars into everybody's heads.
I think coming out of this, one of the more interesting things to me is trying to, since they don't release the paperwork on what these trade deals are, it's very difficult to score them independently for a while.
CORNISH: Deals is a very vague and broad term.
GOLDBERG: Right, but at the same time, there are pro-Trump people who are saying, look, just go by what European leaders are saying about this. They say they got taken to the cleaners. They say that this is the best they could do, and 15% tariffs are a minor victory.
And maybe that's true. But the problem is, in this environment, everyone knows that the way to work with Trump is to flatter him, say that you got rolled, say that he's the most brilliant negotiator.
So it's entirely possible that a lot of the European leaders are like, this is the storyline we've got to push.
CORNISH: Right.
GOLDBERG: Because if we say, hey, we came out of this great, they're going to reopen this thing, and we've got to get this thing dealt with.
CORNISH: Although, if you look at what's happening in Japan, people are really looking at that deal, and it's sort of falling apart between their fingers.
