Gergen: First Time I’ve Seen U.S. President Come to G20 and ‘No Longer Be Regarded as the Leader’

David Gergen: First Time I’ve Seen US President Come to G20 and ‘No Longer Be Regarded as the Leader’ (Mediaite)

Earlier today, after President Donald Trump‘s two hour plus meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Gergen bit the lyrics of CNN co-hort Van Jones by stating that Trump “seemed presidential today.”

Perhaps he was looking at the hell he caught on the Mediaite Twitter timeline as a result of that statment, or maybe his takes are just more nuanced that the average cable news pundit, but later today he seemed to hedge a bit on his previous assessment, when he told John Berman “this is the first time I’ve seen a president come to the G20 meeting in which he’s no longer regarded as the leader, no longer regarded as the world leader.”

To be fair, he prefaced his comment with perfunctory plaudits towards a President Trump who seemed to outperform Gergen’s very low expectations…but if Gergen’s plan was to play it both sides? This comment (coupled wth his earlier “presidential” declaration) seemed to work perfectly.