What summit? US TV blackout and midterms turmoil overshadow red-carpet treatment

Domestic US political turmoil and Donald Trump’s feud with the media overshadowed a summit that Beijing hoped would project an image of China on equal footing and help stabilise ties with the United States.Trump rolled out the full red-carpet treatment for Chinese President Xi Jinping as he paid his first state visit to the US in over a decade.In addition to Trump and his wife Melania greeting Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan on the tarmac on arrival, the “many special arrangements” included a lavish state dinner at the White House.But most Americans saw little footage of that hospitality as major US networks suspended live telecasts in an escalating feud with the US president, casting a shadow over diplomatic efforts to foster warm relations and stability between the two powers.Other major television networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News, also withdrew from the pooled coverage of Trump in solidarity with their banned colleagues.As a result, no network camera crews filmed the Trumps greeting Xi and Peng upon their arrival on Wednesday, the first time since 1962 that a US president had personally welcomed a foreign leader at Joint Base Andrews.