The Real Art of the Deal: How Trump Handed the Winning Cards to Putin

What are they really talking about on those phone calls? And why is Elon Musk discussing Mars missions with Russian officials? Matt Bernardini investigates

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Photomontage: PA Images / Alamy

Over the last few weeks, many in Europe and especially Ukraine, have watched in horror as the United States has turned its back on many of the post World War II alliances that created such a close bond with the continent. With regard to Europe’s biggest geopolitical issue, the war in Ukraine, many of Washington’s top officials have aligned themselves with the Kremlin. This has created concern in Kyiv about how much longer Ukraine can fend off Russia without support from the US.

All of this build up culminated in a two hour phone call on March 18th between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, where the two leaders discussed how to achieve peace in Ukraine. Notably, this discussion, as have many so far, excluded anyone from Ukraine’s side. The consensus from experts was that Russia conceded little. That follows a consistent theme from Trump. For all his bluster and talk about “the art of the deal,” and being a great negotiator, he largely has no idea what he is doing. And when the discussions involve Russia, he’s usually sympathetic to the Kremlin’s viewpoints.

As Laurie Bristow, the former UK Ambassador to Russia, notes, these peace talks are largely for show because they do not include security guarantees for Ukraine, to ensure that Russia does not invade again.

“Without security guarantees, it will simply buy time for Russia to rearm,” Bristow wrote. “Agreeing to Russian demands to disarm Ukraine or withhold the means to defend itself will ensure future Russian aggression.”

She also points out two big mistakes that Trump has made in his negotiations. Whether these mistakes are due to stupidity or something more nefarious is up for debate. But nonetheless they have greatly enhanced Putin’s position.

“The first is the heavy pressure the United States has applied to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky without putting corresponding pressure on Putin,” Bristow said. “The second is Trump’s willingness to take steps toward normalization of US relations with Russia, without requiring Putin to address the causes of the breakdown in relations.”

One thing that might be more likely to bring Putin to the negotiating table is continued economic pressure on Russia and its oligarchs. Until now, the Russian economy as a whole has been fairly resilient to restrictions that have been put in place, but many experts have questioned how much longer this can last. Instead, Trump is giving up more leverage to Putin without getting anything in return. Some US agencies have already stopped working to counter Russian disinformation and cyberattacks, a move that can only be described as a massive giveaway to the Russian dictator.