The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Tournament is to be held in Washington in December of this year, as announced yesterday by Donald Trump in the Oval Office, where he gathered with FIFA chief Gianni Infantino and members of the press.

The event is to be hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico (presumably, if they’re all speaking to each other by then – ed. comment).

Holding the golden (his favorite color) FIFA World Cup Trophy, Trump hinted that Vladimir Putin might also attend the World Cup, saying — with his customary clarity — that Putin “wants to be there very badly . . . [and] may be coming and he may not” . . . depending on the status of the war in Ukraine and the current peace efforts. [RFE/RL, August 23, 2025 CET.]

That, of course, led the reporters to the subject of the Russia-Ukraine negotiations, to which Trump said he would decide his position on the war in the next two weeks, but that he wants to see whether Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky would meet first:

“I think I’ll know. I think I’ll know the attitude of Russia, and, frankly, of Ukraine. It takes two. Then I’m going to make a decision as to what we do and it’s going to be a very important decision. Whether it’s massive sanctions, massive tariffs, or both. Or I’ll do nothing and say, ‘This is your war.’” [Id.]

No! No! No!

Donald Trump will not — not in two weeks, not in two years, not in two centuries — know the attitude of Russia. Where an understanding of Vladimir Putin is concerned, Trump has his head so far up his own ass he can probably see his tonsils.

As Clifford May, founder of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), said in a recent interview with RFE/RL’s Current Time:

“His [Putin’s] mission, it seems to me, is very clear: It’s to restore the Russian/Soviet empire. And that requires that he drag Ukraine back into it. He also doesn’t like the idea of a free, independent, and democratic nation right across the border from him. A bad example for Russians, as he sees it.” [Current Time, RFE/RL, August 23, 2025 CET.]

And May added:

“Here’s what worries me most: Too few people understand that what Putin wants through diplomacy is not peace but victory. He wants to get through diplomacy what he hasn’t been able to achieve through war over the past three or so years. He has much of the Donbas but not all of it. He wants the rest of it. In particular, he wants what’s known as ‘the fortress belt,’ [which is made up of the] fortress cities he hasn’t been able to break through.” [Id.]

Zelensky has rightly accused Russia of “doing everything it can” to prevent a meeting between the two leaders. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Putin was ready to meet Zelensky “when the agenda is ready for a summit, and this agenda is not ready at all.” He further accused Zelensky of saying “no to everything.” [Ruth Comerford and Kay Watson, BBC News, August 22, 2025.]

And what is Donald Trump’s latest word on the possibility of a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky? Well, he said he’s been trying to make it work, but:

“ . . . that’s like oil and vinegar … they don’t get along too well.” [Id.]

Don’t tell Trump, but I think he meant “oil and water.”

And that’s the stable genius who’s running the show.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/23/25