As @skbozphd tweeted along with video below, this has has got to be the craziest two minutes of an interview in the history of TV news segments. Like a three-ring circus, there are several uproarious acts going on at once.
It starts with India Upfront host Rahul Shivshankar telling one of his guests to "just take a bit of a chill pill," before the two of them engage in a nonstop shouting match. The second guest tries to pipe in, but the host and first guest are so heated, nobody hears his punchline message. The host just keeps screaming at "Mr. McAdams" while "Mr McAdams" simultaneously shouts back.
"Mr. McAdams, if you're so concerned about Ukraine, get off the fence and send your forces and put boots on the ground!" the host says. "Don't let your ass here in India, okay? I'm not going to hear your lecture … Don't Mr. McAdams, don't Mr. McAdams …"
The berating continues until "the other guy" screams loud enough to finally be heard: "I'm not talking!! It's the other guy who's talking! I haven't been able to say a word!"
So, not only was their screaming match a shitshow in itself, but it turns out Shivshankar was screaming at the wrong guy. But Shivshankar still didn't get it.
"The man has gone completely ballistic," he said.
"Dear host," the second guest said. "I have not said a word yet. I don't know why you're yelling at me."
"No, I'm not yelling at your," the host said. "I'm talking about Mr. McAdams."
"I am Mr. McAdams!!"
Like a "Who's on First?" parody, Mr. McAdams repeats his name a few times until they finally understand the problem. The two guests, Daniel McAdams, executive director of the Ron Paul Institute, and Bohdan Nahaylo, chief editor of Kyiv Post, were incorrectly identified with an accidental name caption swap.
Maybe next time, Shivshankar can avoid the sideshow with a little more listening and a little less hollering.
