This president is a national humiliation…

Robert Lighthizer was apparently so exasperated from what he was hearing uttered by President Donald Trump’s mouth that he seemingly forgot one of the key rules about the White House: Never contradict the boss. Especially not in public. What followed was a tense two minutes that put on stark display Trump’s ignorance of how trade deals work even though he has long touted it as one of his administration’s key specialties and the way he keeps himself out of the minutiae of the deals that he says are key. In the middle of it all, a top Chinese official couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh, seemingly incredulous at what was unfolding before his eyes.

It all started when Trump was asked a question about how long he thought that the so-called memorandums of understanding would last in an agreement with China. Earlier reports noted negotiators have been writing up several MOUs in key areas that would make up the outline of a larger deal. It was an easy enough question but Trump decided to suddenly expound on his feelings about MOUs in general.

“I don’t like MOUs because they don’t mean anything. To me they don’t mean anything. I think you’re better off just going into a document. I was never … a fan of an MOU,” Trump said. It could have ended there but Lighthizer decided to jump in and although he didn’t look directly at the president, it certainly looked like he was contradicting his boss. “An MOU is a binding agreement between two people,” he said. “It’s detailed. It covers everything in great detail. It’s a legal term. It’s a contract.”

Trump looked annoyed as Lighthizer was talking and as soon as he was done, he made sure to know that his words were meaningless. “By the way, I disagree,” Trump told reporters and the gathered Chinese delegation. It was at that point that Vice Premier Liu He, the top Chinese negotiator, laughed out loud…