Putin and Trump Have Nothing to Talk About
A successful summit would require the two sides to give and take, but this one has no agenda or desired outcome.
Reunited.
Photographer: Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP/Getty Images
The Singapore meeting between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un made for a great propaganda film for North Korean TV, with swelling music, a swooning commentator and swanky pageantry. The planned summit between Trump and President Vladimir Putin won’t even produce that; it will be a pure waste of time for everyone involved.
The meeting, confirmed by Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, would serve two purposes: The U.S. president loves playing the international statesman and Putin likes to look reasonable and constructive. They will have an opportunity to inhabit those roles. But there is no agenda for them to discuss, much less a substantive goal for their talks. And even if they appear to agree on something, it will likely be dialed back by Trump’s advisers and Congress, which will want to ensure that he isn’t perceived as Putin’s pawn.