Trump's Alaska Summit: A Gift to Putin
The optics told the story before a single word was spoken. Vladimir Putin stepping off his plane in Alaska to a red carpet reception, greeted with an extended handshake by Donald Trump beneath a banner reading "Pursuing Peace." What followed was even worse than the stagecraft suggested.
After nearly three hours of talks at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15th, Trump and Putin emerged with nothing—no ceasefire, no concrete steps toward ending the war in Ukraine, not even a joint dinner to celebrate whatever progress Trump claimed they had made. But the absence of tangible results isn't the real story here. It's what Trump gave Putin simply by showing up.
The Art of the Giveaway
Let's be clear about what happened in Alaska. Trump walked into that room having already handed Putin several victories before they even sat down. First, he delayed the implementation of sanctions that were supposed to kick in if Russia didn't end its Ukraine offensive—sanctions that were Trump's own stated deadline. Second, he legitimized Putin on the world stage with a formal summit complete with all the diplomatic pageantry a pariah deserves.
But the most damaging gift was rhetorical. Trump has lifted the blame from Putin by again calling it 'Biden's war'—exactly the narrative Putin has been desperate to establish both domestically and internationally. This isn't just sloppy messaging; it's actively undermining the transatlantic consensus that has held Russia accountable for its unprovoked aggression.
What Putin Walked Away With
International affairs experts are already pointing out the concerning dynamics of this summit. Putin, in return, offered an endorsement of Trump's claims of victory in the 2020 election and noted that it was rigged—a quid pro quo that should alarm anyone who cares about democratic institutions. Putin gets his war reframed as America's fault, and Trump gets validation for his election lies from an authoritarian strongman.
Meanwhile, Trump walked away empty-handed, though he predictably tried to spin the failure as progress, posting on social media: "BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA. STAY TUNED!" This is classic Trump—declare victory regardless of reality and hope his supporters don't notice the emperor has no clothes.
The cancelled joint dinner speaks volumes about how these talks actually went. When you can't even manage a ceremonial meal together, you haven't made the kind of breakthrough that ends wars.
The Dangerous Pattern
What we witnessed in Alaska fits a troubling pattern we've seen before. Trump approaches these authoritarian leaders as supplicants, seemingly more interested in the spectacle of diplomacy than its substance. He treats these summits as photo opportunities while his counterparts extract real concessions.
Putin didn't need to offer Trump anything meaningful because Trump had already given him what he wanted: legitimacy, delayed consequences, and most importantly, cover for his war crimes through the "Biden's war" framing. This is exactly the kind of whitewashing that Putin needs both for his own public and for non-Western parts of the world, where Russia works hard to position this war as the fault of the West.
The Real Stakes
While Trump plays summit theater, real people are dying in Ukraine. Every day this war continues, Ukrainian civilians face bombardment, cities are reduced to rubble, and the international order established after World War II erodes further. The Alaska summit didn't just fail to address this crisis—it actively made it worse by emboldening Putin and undermining Western unity.
European allies are watching nervously as Trump appears more interested in appeasing Putin than standing with democratic partners. When the American president adopts Putin's own talking points about the war, it doesn't just damage America's credibility—it gives cover to other nations that might be wavering in their support for Ukraine.
What Should Have Happened
A serious American president would have used this moment differently. Instead of a glamorous summit with red carpets and "Pursuing Peace" banners, Trump should have implemented the promised sanctions first, then potentially offered to discuss their removal only in exchange for concrete Russian withdrawals from Ukrainian territory.
The messaging should have been clear: Russia is the aggressor, Ukraine is the victim, and America stands with democracies against authoritarian conquest. Instead, we got moral equivalence and blame-shifting that serves Putin's interests perfectly.
The Path Forward
Trump now faces a crucial test with Ukrainian President Zelensky visiting the White House on Monday. Will he offer Ukraine the same red carpet treatment he gave Putin? Will he speak as clearly about Ukraine's right to exist as he does about Russia being a "great country"?
The early signs aren't encouraging. Trump has already suggested that the onus was now on Ukraine to cede territory in order to end the war—another Putin talking point dressed up as American diplomacy.
The Alaska summit should serve as a wake-up call for anyone who still believes Trump is playing some kind of strategic long game with Putin. He's not. He's being played, and Putin is winning. The only question now is how much more damage Trump will do to America's interests—and Ukraine's survival—before he realizes he's been outmaneuvered by a dictator who has spent decades perfecting the art of manipulating American presidents.
The red carpet has been rolled up, but the consequences of what happened in Alaska will unfold for months to come. Putin got what he came for. Trump got a photo op. Ukraine got nothing but more uncertainty about whether America will stand by its democratic allies when it matters most.
What did you think of Trump's handling of the Putin summit? Let me know in the comments below, and don't forget to share this post if you found it valuable.
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The meeting was disgusting from the beginning. One thing that I saw mentioned once but failed to get a reference was that a number of Trump’s staffers appeared “frightened” following the meeting. I would love to see more details on that.
We all know people who are descendants of those who fled Russia. They're are friends, neighbors and coworkers. Right now the people still in Russia are staggering under the burden of their leader just like we are. Their protests are met in the same way ours are -- with force and brutality. I reach out to our brothers and sisters in humanity and tell them not to give up the fight. We won't. The people in Ukraine won't. The people in Hungary won't. We'll win.