Donald Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska ended badly. The press conference was awkward, poorly managed, and even Fox News reporters said it looked like a mess.
The summit was billed as a chance to restart talks about Ukraine, where Russia’s invasion has brought death and suffering to civilians.
Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich, who was inside the room, did not sugarcoat her words. Speaking to Brian Kilmeade, she revealed just how disorganized the summit was. “You and me and everyone else in this room were surprised,” Heinrich said.
She explained that the press had been told to expect a joint press conference only if the meeting went well. Trump himself had told reporters that if things fell apart, he would cancel the joint appearance and speak alone. “Neither of those things happened,” Heinrich said, leaving journalists confused and scrambling.
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What shocked many was the order of speakers. “You had Putin come out and address the press first. We are on U.S. soil here. And that left the media scrambling to get their headsets in,” Heinrich explained. Normally, it is the host leader who speaks first. But Putin walked up, began in Russian, and dominated the stage.
“The way that it felt in the room was not good,” Heinrich admitted. “It did not seem like things went well, and it seemed like Putin came in and steamrolled, got right into what he wanted to say. And got his photo next to the president and then left.”
That image of Trump sitting silently as Putin took control is now defining the Alaska summit. Even Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton said the outcome was clear. Speaking to CNN, Bolton said, “Trump did not lose, but Putin clearly won.”
According to Bolton, Putin walked away with everything he wanted. There were no new sanctions. There was no firm ceasefire deal. And there were no meaningful steps for Ukraine. “It’s far from over, but I’d say Putin achieved most of what he wanted. Trump achieved very little,” Bolton said.
Trump, however, tried to spin the meeting in his usual style. In an interview with Sean Hannity right after the summit, Trump insisted progress had been made. “Look, as far as I’m concerned, there’s no deal until there’s a deal. But we did make a lot of progress,” he said.
That claim is unlikely to comfort critics. To them, the image of Trump being overshadowed by Putin on American soil is a disaster that no spin can erase.
Featured image via Screengrab
