Trump Gets Played

Friday’s summit in Alaska opened with all the spectacle of a superpower showdown but ended abruptly, leaving little clarity on what was actually accomplished. President Trump walked away without the ceasefire he had hoped for, nor did he secure a public commitment from Vladimir Putin to meet next with Volodymyr Zelensky. A planned lunch was canceled, the leaders departed early, and yet both declared the meeting a success.

For Putin, it may have been. Broadcast images of Trump applauding his arrival on the red carpet were splashed across Russian media, a propaganda victory in itself. Russia’s foreign ministry openly mocked the West’s past claims of Moscow’s isolation, pointing to the warm welcome extended to their president on American soil. By the end, Putin seemed to have strengthened his position while Trump was left without concrete results a dynamic that suggests Putin outmaneuvered him.

Their short joint press conference was thin on details but thick with praise, with Trump describing the talks as “a ten.” Yet, moments earlier he had admitted they failed to reach an agreement on the central issue. Putin, on the other hand, declared there was an “agreement,” leaving Trump to walk it back almost immediately. The optics favored Putin, while Trump appeared caught between wanting to project optimism and facing the reality of leaving empty-handed.

Further complicating matters, Trump hinted on Fox News that oil sanctions on Russia once said to be imminent were now likely delayed because of the meeting. What was framed as progress came across instead as a concession, one that Putin could leverage as a win back home.

Trump’s rhetoric before the summit was all about “severe consequences” if Putin failed to deliver. But afterward, his tone shifted redirecting pressure toward Zelensky and Ukraine, saying it was now “up to him to get it done.” In doing so, Trump not only failed to pin Putin down but also signaled a readiness to push responsibility onto Kyiv.

Putin, for his part, closed the meeting with a flourish, telling Ukraine and Europe not to sabotage what he called “nascent progress.” He even suggested the next summit take place in Moscow, a proposal that underscored who was really dictating the terms.

In the end, the summit highlighted a striking imbalance: Trump wanted a deal but left without one, while Putin walked away having reshaped the optics, stalled sanctions, and demonstrated to the world that he could play Trump to his advantage. Whether anything of substance was actually agreed upon remains to be seen, but for now, the image of Putin in control is what lingers.