"Trump’s Alaska summit with Vladimir Putin was an embarrassing failure. Worse, it was a terrible mistake. In return for lavishing guest-of-honour treatment on a Russian leader hitherto deemed a pariah in the west, the US president earned nothing except for some cheap flattery. Putin rejected a ceasefire, which had been Trump’s main goal for the meeting, and stuck to his maximalist goals which are tantamount to Ukraine’s capitulation and subjugation.'' Financial Times editorial today
"It’s particularly offensive that Trump and Putin will presumably discuss how to carve Ukraine up without its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, even invited to the discussion.
As the saying goes, those who aren’t at the table are on the menu.
Trump is talking about “swapping” land, which seems to mean that Ukraine would be called upon to surrender territory to Russia, glossing over the issue of the security guarantees Ukraine needs. This would constitute a capitulation to an invader, a reward for aggression and a dangerous message to China that seizing territory will pay off." - Nicolas Kristoff, Mr. Trump, Stop Coddling Putin, NY Times
The WSJ weekend edition (Aug. 16-17) was particularly prescient in noting - in its front page story:
"The talks at a military base on the outskirts of Anchorage were set to reveal a test of wills over which of the two presidents would back down."
Alas, Putin prevailed and Trump punked out, clearly rattled by Putin's 20 minute opening address using a distorted history to lay all the blame on Ukraine for Russia's invasion 3 1/2 years ago. And hence the need to prioritize Russia's security. Trump backed down from pressing for a ceasefire because he had neither the brains or the balls to face off against the former KGB chief. Who, by the way, is a wanted war criminal to whom he'd earlier given a red carpet treatment complete with cloying pats on the back and hand holding with wide smiles to boot.
But as the WSJ piece also noted, Putin arrived in Alaska with a very different goal from planning a ceasefire. Nope, the Russian was "intent on pursuing his longer term ambition of re-asserting Moscow's dominance over Kiev." And he knew Trump would cooperate in this, sizing him up long ago as a needy, damaged and spineless twit who lacked the moxie to challenge the bigger Russian bully. (Not in size, maybe, but in determination and grit.)
We all know (or should) Dotard Trump is into theatrics and a born carny barker, but also a needy little weasel. Hence, no surprise he relished the spectacle of the moment last Friday, chortling with war criminal Putin, clapping for his guest — once, twice, a third time — before Putin reached him on - wait for it - a red carpet.. Clapping? WTF you think Putin is a rock star? But as former Ambassador Michael McFaul observed in a Deadline Whitehouse appearance Friday afternoon:
"It raises the bar for Trump. He gave Putin a meeting, knowing the biggest gift you can give to a foreign head of state is presidential time. Then he added to it by bringing him to the United States of America, including a ride in the beast. That suggests to me Putin has gotten everything he wanted. If he just goes home now this is a great victory for him. The pressure is on Trump to get something in return. I hope he has a concrete strategy and not just another meeting."
On their walk down the red carpet, Dotard spread his hands apart, as if to brag about the size of the Elmendorf-Richardson stage nearby and the throng of reporters waiting. Trump seemed intent on showing off the most visible (and most threatening) trappings of American military power within just a few steps of the former KGB spymaster. A military show-and-tell.
To Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Mark Hertling also appearing on Deadline Whitehouse at the same time, it was appalling and unforgiveable. In his words:
"They come off from the red carpet and move right in front of our fifth generation fighters, in the F-22s and F-35s. So you're giving the Russian dictator a really good look at one of our strategic basis. With the body language, the mannerisms, the fawning by Trump, I agree with Ambassador McFaul we've already given a gift to Mr. Putin. A tyrant who's committed thousands of war crimes. He's killed babies, kidnapped children, he's committed war crimes and atrocities and he's bombed civilian targets.
Every single one of the Geneva convention rules have been violated by this guy and yet we see them walk down a red carpet together like their best buddies. And this is without the other member of the conflict being involved, President Zelenskyy, which is in my view nauseating and criminal. You would have thought Trump would have learned this from his first term. It is simply not the way you treat someone who has invaded another country. This runs against everything I know as a soldier and as someone who's spent his life defending this country,"
This is why it was so confounding to behold a supposedly intelligent guy like Bill Maher with his head up his ass on Real Time, spouting that: "It's a zombie lie that Trump is Putin's bitch." E.g.
Bill Maher Slams ‘Zombie Lie’ Involving Donald Trump & Vladimir Putin
- But it's no zombie lie and only a brainwashed, pro-Putin Zombie would buy it. All Maher's pathetic examples rang hollow, e.g.: "Trump bombed Iran after all" - but Russia was already divested from Iran, including major support, long before that. "But Trump came back to NATO". Hardly. Trump has abided by Putin's move to actually "take NATO off the table in any discussions", according to Prof. Timothy Snyder on Last Word Friday night.
"But the Trump sanctions show assertion!' No, dumbass. As The Wall Street Journal itself noted: "Trump has let his self-imposed deadline for sanctions against Russia lapse ahead of the summit."
Worse, instead of imposing tough sanctions, he announced a summit meeting with Putin and suggested that Ukraine would have to give up territory to reach a deal. That capitulation is exactly what we've seen transpire.
As Yale historian Timothy Snyder further pointed out:
"Putin has learned that all you have to do is stand next to Trump and say nice things about him and you can do whatever you want to the world, including bombing an invaded country into oblivion."
Validated when the next day we saw on the news wires that Trump had sided with Putin that Ukraine must cede territory to halt the fighting, e.g.
After Putin Summit, Trump Backs Plan to Cede Land in Ukraine: Live Updates - The New York Times
A bitch any other name is still a bitch, Maher. So give up the yap that you're "not changing but standing for the facts and truth." You're doing nothing of the sort. But we knew amplified subjugation to and supplication of Putin was coming, as I predicted in my previous post. Confirmed when we beheld the nauseating fawning and deferential behavior of the wannabe orange strongman - when he faced off with a real one. Hell, the wimp even let Putin lead off the summit remarks - which is hardly accepted protocol - and he kept silent when Putin used the "both sides" bunkum to try to justify his invasion.
The image that'll be remembered most? Putin almost giddy peering out the window of 'the beast' - Trump's armored limo with his Secret Service entourage,
Validating Velshi's take on Last Word:
"Putin got a great photo for Russian state television that shows a veteran KGB agent literally inside the inners sanctum of American presidential power, smiling."
As they walked toward a waiting
stage, both men stopped to look up at a B-2 fighter jet flying above them. Putin, who had not been to the United States outside of U.N. meetings since
2007, looked overhead, repeatedly. The stealth bombers can carry bombs capable
of striking an underground nuclear facility, as they did in June when American
forces bombed Iranian nuclear sites.
The final images of raw capitulation and surrender occurred in the actual venue for the meeting. Flanked by their foreign policy advisers, the two men sat quietly. Putin sat with his legs spread wide and his hands clasped. The Russian leader kept his gray eyes down, raising them only when the journalists in front of him began to jostle at which point he smirked. Trump, for his part, gazed forward at the row of cameras and reporters and lights, doubtless shell shocked he could be exposed as a poseur on his own turf.
It was a sight he's seen countless times before and usually had something skewed or bombastic to offer, but not this time. Now, the de facto defender of the free world and producer of this event, had nothing to say. He sat mute after the most vile tyrant on the planet had defiled his scene and had the gall to defend his savage atrocities in Ukraine. He knew he had been neutered and preferred not to say a word to contradict the tyrant ad war criminal he'd let set foot on U.S. soil.
After all he had signed on to play a part in ending this war, which he bragged (during the 2024 campaign) he'd do his first day. But now saw it was all sizzle and no pop. He sat there as a mock emperor with no clothes, giving up any effort to negotiate with a brutal dictator (a real one). One who felt so entitled to Ukrainian territory that Russian forces kept pummeling the Ukrainians (17 dead) on the very day of the empty summit.
Later, Trump and Putin left the 12 minute "news conference" in Anchorage without taking any questions from the press. Putin didn't want any, and Trump - being his bitch - complied. They had met privately for about three hours to discuss Russia’s war on Ukraine and came up with bupkis. Reinforcing Timothy Snyder's parting words in his MSNBC appearance:
"When you say Trump takes a strong position what you are really saying is he indulges in strong rhetorical shifts. Meantime, he has not made or offered any sound policy positions: no sanctions, no secondary sanctions, no freezing of Russian assets. Nor has he mentioned increased aid for Ukraine. On the contrary he's made huge concessions to Russia, including trying to take NATO off the table, nor does he propose any reparations.
So it's clear Putin and the Russians have his number. All they have to do is flatter him and they can then later make fun of him on TV. They will do it again after all his bending over backwards, fawning over and praising a ruthless dictator and getting nothing in return."
Are critics going overboard to tear into Putin and Trump's obsequious behavior? Not at all. They are trying to wake the American media and populace up to the fact that - all phony social blabber and motions aside- you do not make nice with a bloodthirsty tyrant. No matter how much he smiles.
Fortunately, today, when Zelenskyy meets Trump at the White House he will have a cadre of key European leaders backing him up. Those will include: Keir Starmer of Britain, Emmanuel Macron of France, Friedrich Merz of Germany and Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission; as well as three of Europe’s leading “Trump whisperers” — Giorgia Meloni of Italy, Alexander Stubb of Finland and Mark Rutte of Nato. The Europeans will do their utmost to steer the meeting towards safer ground.
The approach will be basic "stroke Trump's ego". First assure him he remains a "very stable genius" (as the FT's Gideon Rachman put it) then convince him that Putin led him astray. As Gideon adds:
"Fortunately for the Europeans, Trump has a strong tendency to regurgitate the views of the last person he's spoken to. In Alaska it was Putin and now it will be Zelenskyy and friends."
Which is typical of a low IQ, emotionally damaged, weak leader who fancies himself stronger and smarter than he is. Rachman adds that the Europeans are accompanying Zelenskyy for more reasons than supporting him against Dotard. They believe, and I agree, "the security of the whole continent is at stake in Ukraine".
Which Trump ought to have figured out for himself instead of giving Putin the royal treatment which no respectable president ever does for a tyrant.
See Also:
Trump drops ceasefire demand for Ukraine war, tells allies Putin wants land - The Washington Post
Excerpt:
Donald Trump dropped his demand for a ceasefire in Ukraine
and told its president Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants
Ukraine’s eastern Donbas area in exchange for halting the war. Hours after
Trump and Putin met Friday in Alaska, Trump said Ukraine and Russia should
go straight to negotiating a settlement, a split with Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies that aligns the United States with
Putin.
Zelensky has rejected Russian demands to cede Ukrainian land. The Ukrainian leader and his European partners, including the leaders of Britain, France and Germany, had lobbied the White House to pressure Moscow into a ceasefire before any negotiations.
And:
by Adam Lynch | August 17, 2025 - 5:20am | permalink
Daily Beast reporter David Rothkopf said President Donald Trump exposed his eagerness to dump politics and get back into reality TV at his Friday summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“If you looked into the resignation and bewilderment in his eyes as he scuttled off the stage at Elmendorf, you couldn’t help but wonder if he wasn’t starting to think it will be easier to return to the kind of low-level grift that is his main line of work,” said Rothkopf, adding that Putin surely knows Trump is just a reality TV star.
“Trump framed himself as the host of the summit. But Putin was the center of attention, the person who spoke first at the post-event press conference, the one who was clearly setting the rules going forward,” said Rothkopf. “Shifting away from a ceasefire to seeking a full peace accord was Putin’s idea, not Trump’s.”
And:
Trump biographer says White House insider texted blunt, profane message after Alaska summit
Excerpt:
Analysts highlighted how Putin managed to shift U.S.
policy rhetoric toward a broader “peace agreement," a move that aligned
with Kremlin narratives — without offering any tangible concessions, giving him
symbolic and diplomatic gains at U.S. expense.
On The Daily Beast Podcast Saturday, Trump biographer Michael
Wolff said a close aide texted him simply: “F--- --.”
Wolff concluded that Trump emerged from the meeting in
Alaska clearly disadvantaged, a sentiment seemingly shared by those inside his
circle. “Trump got f--- --,” he said.
“We got nothing out of this," Wolff said. "This
is, you know, this is really, really a loss for Trump, and potentially a loss
for Ukraine.”
And:
Excerpt:
By most accounts, the European officials want to ensure that Mr. Trump has not pivoted too close to the Russian side, and does not try to strong-arm Mr. Zelensky into a deal that will ultimately sow the seeds of Ukraine’s dissolution. And they want to safeguard against the risk of the United States, the linchpin of European security since NATO’s creation in 1949, undermining that interest.
And:
Russia sees victory as Trump adopts Putin’s approach to ending Ukraine war - The Washington Post
Excerpt:
Russian officials and commentators were especially enamored by Trump’s unusually warm red-carpet greeting to Putin on Friday in which they saw an opening to pull America away from its traditional allies in Europe. ...Trump appeared to have been swayed by the Kremlin’s contention that only a comprehensive peace deal was acceptable — which Putin has so far used to delay efforts to halt the fighting.
Putin also succeeded, to some extent, in deflecting pressure to end the war onto Zelensky — rather than keeping it on Russia as the aggressor — with Trump telling Fox News after the summit that Zelensky should “make a deal” now because “Russia’s a very big power. And they’re not.”
And:
by Medea Benjamin | August 19, 2025 - 4:44am | permalink
by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies
Donald Trump came into office promising to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Now, six months later, his high stakes meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska may have put the United States and Russia on a new path toward peace, or, if this initiative fails, could trigger an even more dangerous escalation, with warhawks in Congress already pushing for another $54.6 billion in weapons for Ukraine.
After emerging from the meeting, Putin correctly framed the historical moment: “This was a very hard time for bilateral relations and, let’s be frank, they’ve fallen to the lowest point since the Cold War. I think that’s not benefiting our countries and the world as a whole. Sooner or later, we have to amend the situation to move on from confrontation to dialogue.”
And:
Excerpt:
Even in the annals of Mr. Trump’s erratic presidency, the
Anchorage meeting with Mr. Putin now stands out as a reversal of
historic proportions. Mr. Trump abandoned the main goal he brought to his
subarctic summit and, as he revealed
on Saturday, would no longer even pursue an immediate cease-fire. Instead,
he bowed to Mr. Putin’s preferred approach of negotiating a broader peace
agreement requiring Ukraine to
give up territory.
The net effect was to give Mr. Putin a free pass to continue
his war against his neighbor indefinitely without further penalty, pending
time-consuming negotiations for a more sweeping deal that appears elusive at
best. Instead of a halt to the slaughter — “I’m in this to stop the killing,”
Mr. Trump had said on the way to Alaska — the president left Anchorage
with pictures
of him and Mr. Putin joshing on a red carpet and in the presidential
limousine known as the Beast.
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