When President Donald Trump showed Chinese President Xi Jinping the picture of an autopen that now hangs in Joe Biden's spot on the Presidential Walk of Fame, Xi laughed.

Over at CNN, however, Anderson Cooper needed an emotional support animal and an emergency session with this therapist.

Last year, Trump installed the Presidential Walk of Fame along the West Colonnade of the White House, but instead of using Joe Biden’s portrait, he put up a picture of an autopen. It's a great bit, and even a Communist dictator got the joke.

Somehow CNN has decided that Trump pointing it out to Xi is a huge scandal.

On AC360, Cooper assembled a panel and spent the segment fishing for someone to trash Trump.

“To see the President Trump mock former President Biden in front of an autocratic leader like Xi, I guess not surprising, but still, did it surprise you?" Cooper asked Johns Hopkins political historian Leah Wright Rigueur.

Rigueur was happy to oblige.

"I think we should still be surprised and we should still have the capacity to be horrified by the President's actions," she said. "But in particular, this action, mocking a former President, mocking his predecessor at a moment where U.S.-China tensions, U.S.-China relations are tense, but also in front of the President of China and at a moment where China is thinking about, you know, what is U.S. strength."

Horrified? Joe Biden literally used the power of the federal government to try to put Trump in prison, but we’re supposed to be outraged that Trump was mocking Biden to Xi? CNN spent years treating the prosecutions of Biden's chief political rival as a sober exercise in accountability. Now the network wants a national day of mourning over a framed photo.

Rigueur went on to call the moment "childish" and "classless," and she scolded Trump for failing to "showcase a level of decorum and respect for the office of the presidency." Funny how that deep concern for the dignity of the office never came up while Biden's aides were busy running it for him.

ICYMI: Trump Made Democrats Look Stupid Again

Cooper then turned to David Urban, a former Trump campaign adviser, with a question that sounded like it had been assembled from spare parts. He clearly wanted Urban to join the pile-on.

"David, there was something particularly kind of pathetic about the president's attempt to make sure that Xi understood that this was mocking President Biden, kind of reaching out and kind of, you know, kind of as if he didn't get the joke, kind of explaining the joke, which is obviously never a good position to be in," Cooper said.

Cooper then complained that the moment "played well with some of the online kind of trolling supporters of the president."

Urban didn't take the bait; in fact, he destroyed Cooper’s premise.

He reminded Cooper that Trump brought Xi to the National Archives to see the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence, that a U.S. military band performed songs from Les Misérables at the state dinner, and that a B-1 bomber roared overhead during the national anthem.

"I don't know how much more strong you can get," Urban said. "And the ultimate sign of strength, wait, and, Anderson, the ultimate sign of strength. President Xi flew home in a U.S.-made Boeing 747."

Cooper still wasn't satisfied.

"You don't think it's a sign of weakness to mock the former president of the United States in front of a dictator?" he asked.

"I think, it maybe distasteful, but I don't think it weakens the U.S. position vis-a-vis China," Urban replied.

Having struck out twice, Cooper gave up and just said what he'd been thinking the whole time.

"I just think it makes him look small," Cooper said. "You know, it's not the first time, anyway."

🚨 NEW: CNN panelist MELTS DOWN over President Trump’s light-hearted moment that he showed China’s Xi the Joe Biden autopen photo: “We should have the capacity to be horrified by the President’s actions mocking a former President, his predecessor. This is childish, classless.” pic.twitter.com/3JTJQeXjmR

— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) September 26, 2026

You know what really makes a president look small? Standing on a stage lost, needing his wife to show him which way to go. Yet, CNN was one of many left-leaning outlets that ignored Biden's obvious cognitive decline for years, waving off every stumble and blank stare as a right-wing smear. It only found the story after more than 50 million Americans watched Biden lose his train of thought on the debate stage in June 2024.

A little perspective, Anderson Cooper. A little perspective.

Editor's Note: Do you enjoy PJ Media's conservative reporting exposing the radical left and woke media? Support our work so we can keep bringing you the truth.

Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.