When Vladimir Putin suggested a one-on-one meeting with Donald Trump, he appeared to be acceding to Trump’s wishes. In reality, he was luring Trump more deeply into his already-woven web of lies and deceit, buying further time for the pursuit of his war in Ukraine, and positioning himself as the peacemaker.

And Trump, ever anxious to fulfill his campaign promise of putting an end to the then three-year-old conflict, and as always believing himself to be the master manipulator, walked right into the trap.

Finally — too late — Trump and his melange of White House geniuses may be realizing what they’ve done. Rather than characterizing it as a major breakthrough, they are now cautioning against over-optimism, instead describing Friday’s summit as “a feel-out meeting” and a “listening exercise.” Trump even said in yesterday’s press conference, with his usual eloquence:

“I believe he [Putin] wants to get it over with. Now, I’ve said that a few times, and I’ve been disappointed. Because I’d have a good call with him and then missiles would be lobbed into Kyiv or some other place, and you’d have 60 people laying [sic] on a road dying.” [Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, August 12, 2025.]

John Bolton, former national security adviser to Trump, had this to say:

“Clearly Putin’s strategy is to delay and play the president: string him along, concede nothing, exclude Zelensky. My preeminent fear is a bad deal that Zelensky rejects, and then he becomes the bad guy, and that Trump, once again in his classic mixture of vengeance and vanity, will turn against Ukraine. . . .

“Putin kept pushing Trump and eventually went further than Trump was willing to be pushed. He got mad, so Putin gave him this summit. Now he wants to work his KGB magic on Trump and get him back in line.” [Id.]

And Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said:

“Putin has already won. He is the leader of a rogue state, and he’ll get a picture on U.S. soil with the president of the United States. Trump wants a deal. And if he can’t get one now, he may walk away from it entirely.” [Id.]

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Between Trump’s neurotic desire for a Nobel Peace Prize (not least because Barack Obama already has one), and Putin’s need to reinforce his position as the world’s foremost strongman, this “summit” in Alaska promises to be nothing more than a dance between two frustrated peacocks vying for the favors of the same peahen. (I’m not sure whether peacocks actually do engage in dance competitions, but it’s the first analogy that came to mind, and I rather liked the imagery.)

So, we’re still counting down to Friday — while NATO warns Moscow that it is treating the Russian enclave at Kaliningrad as an active war zone; Estonia tightens its borders and increases its defenses; and the Earth keeps spinning . . . though increasingly off-kilter.

But those are separate nightmares.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/12/25