The meeting in Alaska between Putin and Trump has achieved nothing except to reveal Trump’s utter stupidity and off-the-chart narcissism. Putin played him like a fiddle. Trump doesn’t seem to appreciate that he is the most powerful man in the world. As usual, he deferred to Putin, greeting him like an excited puppy and allowing him to dominate the press conference. The pair took no questions afterward, presumably because Putin demanded it as a precondition. Trump, as we know, loves long rambling exchanges with the press corps, but this time there was just a prepared statement from the indicted war criminal, declaring his “brotherly love” for the Ukrainian people and suggesting once again that any solution to the war in Ukraine must address its “root causes.”
Trump looked tired out and deflated. He gave interviews later, trying to pretend the meeting had achieved something of substance to end the war. It hasn’t. He seems completely ignorant of the fact that Russia is weak, poor, and in no position to dictate terms to anybody. It was obvious who wanted the meeting most, and it wasn't Vladimir Putin - the only man who can end the war at any time he chooses.
Putin stroked Trump’s huge but massively fragile ego, telling him that he had won the 2020 election and it was all down to mail-in ballots. Trump, of course, believed him, despite having funded 62 failed court cases in 2021 trying to prove exactly that.
Trump: "Vladimir Putin said something- one of the most interesting things. He said 'your election was rigged because you have mail in voting. It's impossible to have mail in voting & have honest elections.' He said that to me because we talked about 2020. He said, 'you won that election by so much'"
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 16 August 2025 at 02:28
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Putin is hardly the person you would consult on what constitutes a free and fair election anyway. Also, the orange idiot didn’t seem to realise a record number of mail-in ballots were used in 2024 - which HE won! It was insane.
After going to Alaska, having agreed with allies to try to persuade Putin to accept an immediate ceasefire, he emerged having dropped that plan in favour of continuing the fighting while negotiating a peace deal, which is the Russian position. The New York Times reports that Trump is now in favour of a 'land for peace' deal, breaking from the firm position of President Zelensky and the EU. He is perfectly willing to sell millions of Ukrainians into Russian occupation, make no mistake.
Russia gets everything it wants - even more land than it already occupies - in exchange for a 'firm commitment' not to attack Ukraine or any other European state in the future. We are back to 1938 and Chamberlain in Munich. What does such a commitment cost Russia? Zero. Anyone who believes Putin won't attack again is seriously deluded.
Unsurprisingly, it's now being suggested that European leaders are growing disillusioned with the negotiations, telling The New York Times that they fear “Trump’s affinities with Russia and his admiration for Putin” will lead to weakened European security and Ukrainian sovereignty.
Gideon Rachman in the FT says Trump is being manipulated by Putin, by Ukraine and by the EU. They have all learned to become expert violinists. They flatter him endlessly and pick up on some of his casual throwaway lines to persuade him to adopt their own favoured approach. This is only possible because he is an empty vessel, a blank page with no vision of his own beyond seeing himself receiving a Nobel Peace Prize to match Barack Obama; that’s his entire motivation.
Another article, this time in The Atlantic, is a useful reminder of how Trump is easily manipulated. The piece by Tom Nichols suggests Trump seems to have "no theory of governance beyond personal gain and retribution." Unlike any of his predecessors, he simply has no vision and doesn't understand democracy or global politics. It's all about HIM.
Perhaps the best summary of the whole sorry Alaskan episode is one by Susan Glasser in The New Yorker. The opening says it all:
"Nothing says standing up to Russian aggression quite like welcoming the aggressor on a red carpet and applauding him. On Friday, Donald Trump did both at the start of his summit in Alaska with Vladimir Putin. This triumphant greeting was followed by multiple friendly handshakes, a cordial pat or two on the arm, and a companionable stride past an enfilade of American F-22 fighter jets at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
"When the pair got within shouting distance of the American press corps, a bit of harsh reality crept in. 'President Putin, will you stop killing civilians?' someone called out. But, on the twelve-hundred-and-sixty-eighth day since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Putin and Trump never wavered from the chummy cordiality with which they had greeted each other for their first meeting in six years. Putin pantomimed not being able to hear the question and shrugged.
"In an instant, Trump ushered him away for an apparently impromptu ride in his Presidential limousine; pictures of the Beast rolling slowly toward the venue where their formal talks would be held showed Putin, through the window, grinning broadly."
And it ends with:
"Even Trump knew he had bombed. 'Now it’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done,' he said at one point. If there’s one unwavering Law of Trump, this is it: Whatever happens, it is never, ever, his fault."
Zelensky is in Washington tomorrow, and, likely, the whole thing will soon come crashing to earth.
I fear Trump will give up unless Ukraine capitulates, and Europe will stand alone against Putin. We can and must show him he cannot defeat Ukraine militarily. It isn't going to be easy or cheap, but it will be far less costly than allowing him to win.
