Whatever the Alaska Game Was, the Odds Didn’t Move
Betting markets were unfazed by the Trump-Putin summit. It’s Europe and Ukraine’s turn.
Heads or tails?
Photographer: Drew Angerer/AFP/Getty
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What games are Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump playing? The cliché that one of them (presumably Putin) is playing chess while the other plays checkers doesn’t quite work. Trump seems to be playing some game based on a coin flip as the summit saw him A) insist that a ceasefire in Ukraine must come first (while threatening consequences if not), B) fail to get it, and C) decide that he agreed with Putin all along. Either he is simplistic and agrees with whoever spoke to him most recently. Or he is playing a sophisticated version of poker to keep counterparts on edge.