'Morning Joe' panel crushes 'buffoon-like' Trump for botched meeting with Angela Merkel

President Donald Trump earned widespread derision for his botched meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week, especially after the president lashed out at a German reporter for supposedly spouting "fake news" at the two leaders' joint press conference.

Via Mediaite, the panel at Morning Joe on Monday hammered Trump for his handling of the meeting, as co-host Joe Scarborough described it as "spectacularly clumsy, short-sighted, some might even say stupid."

Co-host Mike Brzezinski helpfully chimed in to say that Trump's performance during the joint press conference -- and in particular, his refusal to shake Merkel's hand during a photo op -- was "buffoon-like."

Washington Post columnist David Ignatius didn't go that far, but he did agree with the Morning Joe hosts that Trump did not handle his first face-to-face meeting with Merkel well.

"It was obviously rude," he said. "You don’t dis a key ally the way he’s done now."

Ignatius hypothesized that Trump wouldn't shake Merkel's hand as a way to "stick it to Germany" for allegedly not paying enough money to help maintain NATO.

Watch the whole segment below.