There are jokes that bomb, and then there are jokes that bomb.
Donald Trump told one of the latter during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel where he faced repeated questions about his baseless claim that he had been wiretapped by President Obama.
"When it comes to wiretapping from this past administration," Trump said, gesturing toward Merkel, “at least we have something in common, perhaps."
The comment was a reference to the fact that the National Security Agency had spied on the German leader during the Obama years, a revelation that caused a short-lived crisis in the longstanding relationship between Washington and Berlin. Trump’s joke prompted awkward laughter in the room, but not from the chancellor.