Dem
47
GOP
53
At this point, with roughly 10 years of Trumpism in the bank, we seriously doubt we will ever be persuaded that he has scored a major foreign policy "win."
Why do we say that? Well, consider the following:
Given this extensive track record, it is hard to envision a set of facts that would cause us to conclude that Trump had scored a real diplomatic coup.
The meeting with Putin is a case in point. Trump went into the "summit" with one course of action in mind (namely, a ceasefire), and came out with a very different course of action (Ukraine must cede land, and must agree never to join NATO). In short, Trump went in with a point of view that reflected what most of the world wants, and he left with a point of view that reflects what Putin wants. The flip-flop was so aggressive that there were more than a few folks yesterday suggesting that Putin helpfully "reminded" Trump of the kompromat he (Putin) allegedly has. For example, here's Drudge:
Matt Drudge leans a bit conspiratorial, and he's definitely a Never Trump conservative. Still, not only did Trump completely embrace Putin's point of view, he also extracted zero concessions in the process of doing so. This artless dealing was so obvious, it was even noted on Fox's airwaves.
It is not known exactly what Putin said to Trump, or when he said it, to compel near-total obeisance. It IS known that Putin not only arranged to get the summit held on American soil (something of a power play, particularly when that soil was once a Russian possession), and that he went first at the press conference despite not being the host (definitely a power play), he also spent some time alone with Trump in "The Beast." This is a rather serious breach of protocol, because the Federal Security Service (Russia's version of the Secret Service) undoubtedly demanded that they be able to sweep the vehicle, which means they collected some useful intel on the steps taken to protect presidents when they are traveling by ground.
And while much of what Putin said remains a secret to the general public, there is at least one thing that the Russian said that is known, and that illustrates how unbelievably easy it is to manipulate Trump. To wit, Putin remarked that Trump actually won the election of 2020, but that it was stolen from him by fraudulent mail-in ballots, and that there can never be a fair election when mail-in voting is allowed. Trump, who just does not have ANY awareness of when someone is playing him, got onto his brought-to-you-by-Russia-Today social media platform, and unleashed a rant that was absolutely nuts, even by his standards. We are going to replicate it here, because it really needs to be seen to be fully appreciated (especially the slow descent into ALL CAPS). However, you may not want to actually read it all, unless you want your head to hurt:
I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we're at it, Highly "Inaccurate," Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election. We are now the only Country in the World that uses Mail-In Voting. All others gave it up because of the MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD ENCOUNTERED. WE WILL BEGIN THIS EFFORT, WHICH WILL BE STRONGLY OPPOSED BY THE DEMOCRATS BECAUSE THEY CHEAT AT LEVELS NEVER SEEN BEFORE, by signing an EXECUTIVE ORDER to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections. Remember, the States are merely an "agent" for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes. They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do. With their HORRIBLE Radical Left policies, like Open Borders, Men Playing in Women's Sports, Transgender and "WOKE" for everyone, and so much more, Democrats are virtually Unelectable without using this completely disproven Mail-In SCAM. ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING, and everybody, IN PARTICULAR THE DEMOCRATS, KNOWS THIS. I, AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, WILL FIGHT LIKE HELL TO BRING HONESTY AND INTEGRITY BACK TO OUR ELECTIONS. THE MAIL-IN BALLOT HOAX, USING VOTING MACHINES THAT ARE A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER, MUST END, NOW!!! REMEMBER, WITHOUT FAIR AND HONEST ELECTIONS, AND STRONG AND POWERFUL BORDERS, YOU DON'T HAVE EVEN A SEMBLANCE OF A COUNTRY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!!! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
This comes after multiple years of both Trump and the Republican Party saying that mail-in ballots are swell. The President has already cooked up an executive order demanding an end to both the ballots and the machines, but elections are run by states, so that's not going to go anywhere. Meanwhile, Putin must be dumbfounded as to how unbelievably easy it is to put one over on Trump.
We'll also point out one other thing about the Putin "summit": Trump didn't even understand what he was there to negotiate. Note that the main lieutenants he took with him were Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. Those guys are not the diplomats, they are the dealmakers. Specifically, they deal in goods and land. And they were there because the President thought he and Putin were going to talk land swaps. Undoubtedly, the Russian allowed Trump to think that, but that was not actually what was on the agenda.
If there is a way to have a bigger diplomacy fail, we can't imagine what it might be. Trump was unprepared going in, was played like a fiddle during the meeting, and exited it sounding like a Russian asset. And yet, as is par for the course, he engaged in all sorts of bragging about how well he'd done, and how well he is doing. Here is one such message:
One year ago, the United States was an almost DEAD COUNTRY. Now we are the "HOTTEST" Country anywhere in the World, the envy of all. What a difference a President makes!!!
Here is another:
Do the great American Flags I put up in front of both entrances of the White House look FANTASTIC, or what??? WOW, what a difference!!! President DJT
Trump also reiterated his view that he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
And that, finally, brings us to yesterday's meeting at the White House, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy the guest of honor, but with numerous foreign heads of state also in attendance. Zelenskyy and his colleagues know all about buttering up Trump, and they did much of it yesterday, starting with the Ukrainian praising Trump for his strength. The only way this could have been more obvious is if Zelenskyy also noted that he admires the size of Trump's penis. Of course, at the same time that Mark Rutte, Ursula von der Leyen, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz, Keir Starmer, Giorgia Meloni and Alexander Stubb were flattering Trump, they were also outmaneuvering him. The reason that Zelenskyy came accompanied by a contingent was to prevent another sneak attack from Trump and J.D. Vance.
And indeed, there was no sneak attack, so that's a win for Zelenskyy. Beyond that, the only things that really came out of yesterday's meeting were that: (1) Everyone agrees that Ukraine needs serious security guarantees, but (2) nobody agrees exactly what that means. The Europeans, to a greater or lesser extent, all spoke of Article V-like guarantees. That's the part of the NATO charter that pledges all members to respond to an attack on any one member. If Ukraine got such assurances, that would be tantamount to granting NATO membership, even if such membership was not formalized. Putin would be very, very unhappy about that, since he most definitely intends to attack Ukraine again, even if there's a truce, and he does not want the possibility of a response from Germany, the U.K., the U.S., France, etc.
Trump, for his part, did not say much about the Article V talk, but did hint he might be open to a situation where U.S. troops were sent to Ukraine as part of a peace agreement. That would also displease Putin, which means Zelenskyy & Co. dragged Trump at least a little bit back toward a more European-centric, and less Putin-centric view of the war. The meeting broke up at that point, allowing Trump to get to what REALLY matters, which is going on Truth Social to send a message celebrating his success. (Z)