Another way to look at it - Trumps handling of the meeting with the Chicoms was so spectacular, even the libs have no choice but offer him praise, even if faint.
This piece proves Scott Adam’s theory perfectly - that Trump will rise from “Hitler” to “Incompetent” to “Competent but I still don’t like him” in the eyes of the media. Events like this accelerate the process because just as you say, the performance exceeds expectations.
In essencce the author could have said “To my surprise, Trump entertained the Chinese leader in a non-Hitlerian way” ;-)