The buildup was epic. For weeks, the Trump administration talked up the meeting with Vladimir Putin as if the world was about to witness a defining moment in history. Media speculation was feverish – would there be a grand bargain on Ukraine, arms control, or even global security itself? Some even hinted it might mark the beginning of a “new era” in U.S.–Russia relations.
And then it happened.
The meeting was less “historic breakthrough” and more “awkward photo-op.” No landmark agreements were reached, no peace deals signed, no strategies unveiled. Just vague talk about “respect,” “better relations,” and “future discussions.” In other words: business as usual, wrapped in hype.
Trump will, of course, try to frame it as a personal victory – that’s his style. He even claimed afterward that Putin praised him for what he’d done for America. Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t – but given Trump’s track record of exaggerating praise, it’s hard to take the claim at face value. What we do know is that there was little of substance for anyone to point to. America’s allies were left wondering why so much diplomatic capital was spent for so little return, while adversaries quietly enjoyed the spectacle.
Putin, for his part, looked calm and unruffled. He gave away nothing, promised little, and let Trump carry the theatrics. In the end, he walked away looking like the steady hand, while Trump appeared desperate for validation.
This wasn’t the dawn of a new era. It was a reminder that in international politics, theatrics without substance are just that – theatrics. And the more often the world sees this pattern repeat, the less seriously America’s leadership is taken on the global stage.
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President Doll-Fondler meets the little Byzantine Icon, and no romantic squirtery occurred, how remarkable. One could have foreseen that Putin is cemented in policy outlook for timeless Mother Russia while the Trumpstain is a passing (is that an “i” or an “a”?) nightmare. Zelensky may wait and consult dreams, nightmares, advice, Murdoch, the devil…
Then you see the following photo and it’s easy to see who the winner, yet again, and it ain’t the partially melted showroom dummy and all-round thickhead standing to the left of Putin.
https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.239%2C$multiply_0.9788%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_0/t_crop_custom/q_86%2Cf_auto/c19118a000fc78c0bada862c4e8402520ac42b5c
Yes, just as expected.
Putin is a cunning, brutal expansionist fascist.
Trump admires those traits
Is Trump any less a Dictator than Putin? Putin is only holding Ukraine to obedience, Trump is doing the same to the world!!!
Decidedly odd !
Normally these meeting of leaders are choreographed well in advance, all the diplomatic issues are agreed and the leaders merely get together to make an announcement of what has been pre-agreed.
But not in this case – no Nobel Prize for anybody, not even a Koala stamp for turning up on time.
When you make Putin look good just by being in the same room, it’s time to quit.
Trump has not an iota of the intelligence of Putin. If he was dumb, he wouldn’t be where he is. DT can only wish he had that
Exactly keitha.
Instead of whining about Trump, we should be asking why it is that China and Russia can turn out competent leaders while Europe, UK, USA, Oz, in fact the liberal democracies as a whole, turn out mediocrities.
Liberal democracy is in decay, and we see it in our leaders.
It’s indicative that anyone would prefer a leader such as Putin to Albanese.
Indicative and weird
I think the West – and Ukraine – would have been better served if Canadian PM Mark Carney met with Putin.
Trump lives a fantasy life where anything he wishes for is done according to his current whim. Apparently surrounded by sycophants who ensure there are no barriers to his extreme ideas – Florida’s version of Alcatraz built in days, for example – he brings his demands onto a stage where he has no jurisdiction and does not even notice that he has been rebuffed. Since success is whatever he says it is, of course he has now brought the Russo-Ukraine conflict to its end. Any subsequent hostilities will only be evidence of the intractable nature of the countries involved, and no reflection on Truump’s diplomatic brilliance. No one among his circle will be telling him the truth