WATCH: CNN Host Calls Out ‘TDS’ Over Trump-Russia Summit

CNN’s Michael Smerconish argued that President Donald Trump should win a Nobel Peace Prize if he manages to broker a peace agreement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, adding that those who think otherwise are suffering from “TDS,” short for, “Trump Derangement Syndome.”

The longtime, nationally-syndicated radio host noted that while a final agreement was not reached during Friday’s summit in Anchorage, the two sides have agreed to further talks. President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are set to meet in Washington D.C. on Monday, which could lead to a trilateral meeting with Russia if all goes well.

“The banner hanging in Anchorage read, ‘Pursuing Peace,’ and President Trump has certainly been doing that,” Smerconish said. 

“I think he deserves credit for the effort that he’s making to end three and a half years of bloodshed in Ukraine and in other global hot spots. And as the song goes, no one knows what goes on behind closed doors. Thus far, there have been no leaks, no word on what that one big area of disagreement might be. We’re left parsing their words and reading their body language,” he continued. “Words and gestures suggested that when it ended, the two of them remain congenial. Pre-summit, Trump critics worried that Trump would sell out Ukraine. There’s no indication that he did that, nor that Putin made any accommodations.”

Ultimately, Smerconish argued that a “glass half full” approach should be taken in viewing the success or failure of the summit, noting that the two sides appeared have “sketched out a framework” for a lasting peace agreement. “If Trump and Putin did sketch out a framework, a deal, they could not have said so. That would have appeared heavy handed toward President Zelensky and Ukraine. Maybe there was a quiet concession from Putin that Trump will now present to Zelensky on Monday. We’ll soon learn, we’ll learn soon, pardon me, and here will be the tells,” he said.

Retired Admiral James Stavridis then joined the program and claimed Trump was too accommodating with Putin. Instead of diplomacy, Stavridis argued that Trump should instead increase sanctions on Russia and provide Ukraine with additional offensive firepower such as F-16 fighter jets.

“I’m just trying to be fair and I’m hearing all the criticism. I’m hearing all the criticism, ‘Oh my God, they rolled out a red carpet,’ as if he should have kneed him in the groin the minute that he stepped off the plane. I mean, he’s trying to cut a deal,” Smerconish responded. “He, President Trump, is trying to cut a deal. I’m willing to give him credit for that so long as he doesn’t sell out Ukraine in the process and there’s no suggestion that he’s done so at this stage.”

Ultimately, when responding to a listener comment over Trump being “too thirsty” to win a Nobel Peace Prize, the CNN host concluded that there has been a fair amount of Trump Derangement Syndrome surrounding the summit.

“If in fact he brokers a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia, one that does not sell out Ukraine, then yes, I’m with Secretary Clinton and I’d nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize,” he said, noting that even Hillary Clinton has said the same.

“I truly don’t get it. That will be Trump derangement syndrome. Because how could you say if he negotiates a fair peace that he’s undeserving? I don’t understand it. I really don’t.”