America laughs as Trump pivots from 'Kung Flu' to hug Xi’s panda diplomacy

President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping walk along the Colonnade of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) TOI correspondent from Washington: Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington DC to negotiate trade, technology, tariffs and the future of the global economy. Instead, he got the most elaborate housewarming party ever thrown by a man desperate to impress his guest.A gobsmacked America is cracking up at US President Donald Trump’s over-the-top reception for Xi, with folks wondering “where Kung flu” -- a reference to the MAGA supremo’s needling nickname for Covid, for which he has long blamed China.One commentator compared Trump's welcome of Xi to a nine-year-old showing off his bedroom -- with legos, video games and bunk beds -- to a friend, before transferring the analogy to the White House, where the US President showed off his gilded Oval office, his presidential hall of fame, and a helipad -- which one wag noted the Chinese would have built in two days, if not two hours.Another joked that Trump sounded like “a Long Island mom trying to set her adult daughter up on a date.” A third transformed Trump’s air...