Trump’s Attempt to Flex for Putin Is Already Backfiring

Trump’s Attempt to Flex for Putin Is Already Backfiring



President Donald Trump
wanted his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week to
be a grand display of power in an attempt to pressure the Russian autocrat
into a ceasefire. 

Instead, for some, it
came off as an act of fealty to one of the world’s most detested leaders.  

“Look at what happened
on Friday. U.S. military personnel, in uniform, literally were on their hands
and knees rolling out a red carpet for the most murderous dictator of the twenty-first
century,” Democratic Representative and former Army Ranger Jason Crow told Face
the Nation
on Sunday. “Somebody
who has kidnapped and is holding prisoner tens of thousands of Ukrainian
children. Somebody who started this whole war.…  This is a historic
embarrassment and defeat for U.S. foreign policy,” he concluded. 

Those on the
center-right reacted similarly. 

“I think Trump may have
thought that having a B-2 flyover accompanied by F-22s, the aircraft that, of
course, were involved in Operation Midnight Hammer against Iran, was somehow suggesting a show of force to
Putin,” former ambassador and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman
told The Bulwark’s Bill Kristol. “I don’t
think that’s how Putin saw it. I think he saw it as a mark of respect,
actually.… What it did was resuscitate him both domestically and internationally
as a respected player on the international stage.” 

Russian politicians and
media cast a celebratory light on the summit. 

“Putin gave Trump nothing, but still got everything he wanted.
Trump finally listened to his demands,” an anonymous Russian foreign policy
official told The Guardian.

“Western media are on the verge of completely losing it,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova declared, prior to the summit. “For three years they
told everyone Russia was isolated and today they saw a beautiful red carpet
laid out for the Russian president in the U.S.” 

The contradictory reactions to Putin’s visit—dismay from liberals
and conservatives alike, rejoicing from pro-Putin Russians—only reaffirms that
the Russian president has the leverage here, not Trump. 



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Kim Browne

As an editor at Cosmopolitan Canada, I specialize in exploring Lifestyle success stories. My passion lies in delivering impactful content that resonates with readers and sparks meaningful conversations.

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