Trump and Putin discussed for three hours at the historic summit.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt looked “frightened” after President Donald Trump’s summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, according to MSNBC host Antonia Hilton.
Hilton said that much of Trump’s team looked bewildered after the high-profile meeting with the Russian president.
“A lot of the press corps that was there, they reported in the minutes and hours after the presser that they saw members of the administration, like Karoline Leavitt, look ashen, almost frightened after what they had seen behind closed doors,” she told former Russian ambassador Michael McFaul. “What did that indicate to you?”
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“Well, first, we should all be glad that we did not go to Alaska, because I was in Helsinki with you. And I was in Geneva when President [Joe] Biden met,” said McFaul. “They traveled a long ways for nothing in return.”
He continued, “To your point, they’re trying to spin it, although they’re not even trying to spin it. That’s a really interesting thing,” he said.
McFaul added that Trump, who promised to end Russia’s war in Ukraine on “day one” of his second term as president, has yet to get anything useful out of Putin.
“I was trying to think of a time with all of this engagement, with all this friendship and the clapping when he comes up that President Trump has done, both in his first term and now in his second term, is there one tangible thing that the American people have gotten out of all of that?” he asked.
“Are we more secure? Are we wealthier? Are we defending our values better?”
No Deal
The leaders met at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, where they shook hands on the tarmac before taking the same car to the meeting.
Despite an “extremely productive meeting,” according to Trump, the leaders “didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.”
Putin has been a headache for the US president, refusing to cooperate in any meaningful peace talks; however, he appeared to be singing a different tune when speaking to reporters.
“Our talks were held in a constructive and mutually respectful atmosphere,” the Russian leader said, adding that he greeted Trump “as a neighbor” and had established “very good direct contacts” with him.
Putin added that the Ukraine conflict was the main topic of discussion, claiming that Russia has “always regarded, and still regards, the Ukrainian people as a brotherly people.”
He continued: “All the root causes of the crisis must be eliminated. Ukraine’s security must, of course, be ensured, and we are ready to work on this.”
Trump echoed Putin’s words, but admitted that they couldn’t reach an agreement. “There are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there.
“There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”
After the press conference ended, Putin suggested that the pair’s next meeting take place in Moscow, but neither man took any questions from the media. In an interview with Sean Hannity, Trump said the ball was now in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s court to “get it done.”
“They’re going to set up a meeting now between President Zelenskyy, President Putin, and myself, I guess. I didn’t ask about it,” said Trump. “Not that I want to be there, but I want to make sure it gets done and we have a pretty good chance of getting it done.”
