to be a very real thing. >> so, josh, even if it was a joke, is there an heir of real responsibility by saying these things? >> sure. there is in much of this administration. i think to betsy's point, i do think the president was joking here about himself. i don't think he was joking about xi and this goes to the way that he's interacted with vladimir putin and a number of other strong men figures around the world where i do think that he envies and admires their style of leadership. i think he envies the way that they don't have to listen so much to their critics the way he has to do it here. this is a president who can't fire his own attorney general whom he hates. he is not anywhere close to moving in the sort of direction. he doesn't have the ability that xi does. i think it would be a nightmare for donald trump to have to be president for the rest of his life given the way that the presidency has treated him so far. so i think there's a part of him inside that would like to be like xi but that's not available. >> not the reality.