CNN anchor Abby Phillip admitted being at a loss for words Wednesday during an on-air discussion over the implications of President Donald Trump repeatedly confusing Iceland and Greenland.
Trump made the eyebrow-raising gaffe four times during a 72-minute speech Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. That evening, Phillip led a panel discussion about the president’s headline-making remarks on “CNN NewsNight,” where she found herself engaged in a heated debate with author and journalist Batya Ungar-Sargon, who hosts the NewsNation talk show, “Batya.”
Ungar-Sargon, an outspoken supporter of Trump, acknowledged the mistakes in the president’s speech but suggested his executive actions on foreign policy were worthy of praise.
“He messed up. He called it Iceland,” she said. “I’ve never once heard him say the word ‘Azerbaijan’ correctly, but that doesn’t mean that he did not bring peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Like, the fact that he cannot be bothered to pronounce it correctly doesn’t mean that the record isn’t there.”
Though others on the panel began to react to Ungar-Sargon’s remarks with laughter, she continued: “It doesn’t mean that he didn’t cut our deficit by 20% in one year. It doesn’t mean that he didn’t actually bring $18 trillion committed.”
Ungar-Sargon was, of course, reiterating Trump’s claim that the U.S. has “secured a record-breaking $18 trillion in commitments for new investments.” As Phillip quickly pointed out, however, this figure conflicts with the $9.6 trillion that appears on the White House’s website.
Still, Ungar-Sargon did not relent. “That’s the website,” she replied.
At that point, Phillip shot Ungar-Sargon some epic side-eye before noting, “I don’t know what to say.”
Trump’s Davos speech was closely watched around the world given his recent threats to take over Greenland, which have led to a spike in tensions between the U.S. and Europe.
Not surprisingly, the remarks were widely panned by media outlets and Democratic lawmakers like California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Appearing on Fox News Wednesday, however, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted the reaction to the speech had been overwhelmingly positive.
“I was in the room,” she said. “It has rave reviews, because the President just tells it like it is.”
