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Trump administration weighs value of Putin summit: ANALYSIS
After White House officials indicated on Wednesday that President Donald Trump could hold a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin as soon as next week, they originally were adamant that there would be no meeting between the two men unless Putin also agreed to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But just hours later, the requirements for the face-to-face appeared to shift. By Thursday afternoon, Trump declared he could meet with Putin without any preconditions. "No, he doesn't," Trump said when asked about whether Putin would have to agree to a meeting with Zelenskyy for the summit to take place. "They would like to meet with me, and I'll do whatever I can to stop the killing," the president continued. Earlier in the day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that it was still Trump's preference to include Zelenskyy in the meeting. However, U.S. officials told ABC News that the Trump administration has been weighing the benefits that a one-on-one with Putin could bring, and has been growing increasingly willing to hold a bilateral engagement with the Russian president if the White House determines it can exact concessions from the Kremlin that would justify it. But holding such a summit is a gambit that risks giving Moscow exactly what it wants before the two leaders even shake hands. According to public comments from the President Trump, official statements from the Kremlin, and U.S. officials familiar with the matter, Putin has been seeking an audience with Trump for months -- making his desire to hold a meeting with him clear even before his inauguration in January. Earlier on Thursday, Putin claimed in a video posted to the Kremlin's Telegram channel that interest in holding a summit "was shown on both sides." "Who said it in the first place, it is no longer relevant," Putin said, adding he was also open to meeting with Zelenskyy so long as "certain conditions" were met first. An adviser to Putin was also quick to respond to initial reports about a potential summit with Trump, jumping ahead of the White House by saying the meeting would happen "in the coming days" and that it would be held in the UAE. (The Trump administration has not said that the summit will definitely happen and denies that a time or location has been set.) If a summit does happen and the Trump administration doesn't come away it with clear deliverables, it's a win only for Putin, according to Ambassador Bill Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama who also served as chargé d'affaires to the country during the first Trump administration. "It's only an achievement for Putin. I don't think it's an achievement for the West, for the United States, for President Trump," Taylor said. "Putin wants to be back as a player. He wants to be he wants to get out of this isolation. He wants to get out of being the pariah." Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia with the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a meeting with Trump would mark "the end of diplomatic isolation for Putin." "He's meeting potentially the most powerful presence in the world without necessarily giving any serious concessions or anything at all to the White House," she said. U.S. officials skeptical of Putin's intentions also say they fear the Russian leader will use the summit as yet another delay tactic -- pushing off the threat of additional pressure from the U.S. After Trump's Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff met with Putin on Wednesday, a readout of the engagement from a senior administrational official said that secondary sanctions targeting Moscow were still on track to be implemented on Friday -- the deadline for movement toward a ceasefire set by the president earlier this month. But on Thursday, officials told ABC News that it was not clear whether the president would still levy new penalties against Russia amid pending plans for a summit. When are reporter asked Trump, "Is your deadline still standing for Vladimir Putin to agree to a cease fire tomorrow or is that fluid now?" he responded, "It's going to be up to him." In the past, the Trump administration has been exceedingly wary of disrupting any potential progress from Russia -- repeatedly delaying threatened punishments. Despite repeated attempts by the Trump administration to orchestrate a meeting the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, Putin has repeatedly balked -- declining multiple invitations extended this spring. The Kremlin has also used preconditions for such a meeting as a stall tactic, insisting earlier this year that both sides exchange what it termed memorandums for peace -- billing the step as necessary for laying groundwork ahead of any high-level talks or short-term ceasefire. After much delay, the Kremlin's memorandum turned out to be a list of its longstanding, maximalist demands that Kyiv and its Western allies dismissed as nonstarters. Still, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the Trump administration would work to set the stage for a potential Putin-Zelenskyy meeting that would be "productive and worth doing." "There's still many impediments to overcome, and we hope to do that over the next few days and hours – weeks maybe," he said in an interview with Fox Business News.
USA Today
2 minutes ago
- USA Today
No, Trump did not propose a 6-month school year, as TikTok videos claim
Videos circulating on social media claim President Donald Trump is shortening the school year to six months, but it isn't true. Several videos on TikTok, some amassing tens of thousands of likes and forwards, claim that Trump has proposed the cut due to post-COVID disrupted education. "Breaking news in a shocking and highly controversial statement," a news anchor style voice says over one of the videos, which features a breaking news headline and news clips of Trump and children. "President Donald Trump has proposed a dramatic cut to the length of the US academic year, allowing children to attend school for only six months annually starting in August." This is not the first time false news stories have been spread through videos on TikTok. Earlier this year, other fake stories were spread saying Trump only had a few days to live (he is still alive), and he had approved a $1,200 payment for stay-at-home moms (he didn't). Here is what to know: More: President Trump orders colleges to hand over more race-related admissions data Is Trump making school 6 months long? No, Trump has made no announcements indicating he intends to shorten the school year. What has Trump done with education so far? In March, Trump signed an executive order aimed at closing the U.S. Department of Education, though fully dissolving the department would take Congressional action. However, the U.S. Supreme Court in July allowed the administration to fire hundreds of workers in its efforts to scale back the department. While K-12 curricula is largely under the purview of local governments, the Department of Education plays a supporting role in K-12 schools through funding. The agency also oversees colleges to ensure legal compliance and federal student aid. The Trump administration has also taken aim at higher education, threatening to withhold funding from several universities in the U.S. if they do not follow federal directives, all under the banner of fighting antisemitism. He has alleged the institutions did not do enough to combat antisemitism during the protests against the war in Gaza, which brought allegations of both antisemitism and Islamaphobia. Some universities like Brown and Columbia have reached unprecedented deals with the Trump administration to end the freeze. Trump also restored the presidential fitness test for students in public schools. Contributing: Zachary Schermele, Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@ Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @
USA Today
2 minutes ago
- USA Today
JD Vance to kick off UK visit with transatlantic tensions high
LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President JD Vance kicks off a trip in the United Kingdom with a meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Friday that will bring renewed scrutiny of Vance's sharp criticism of Britain and its governing Labour Party. Vance, his wife, Usha, and their three young children are expected to land in London at the start of a trip that includes staying with Lammy at Chevening, the country residence used by the foreign minister. They will later stay in the Cotswolds, a picturesque area of English countryside and a popular retreat for wealthy and influential figures, from footballers and film stars to media and political figures. The visit to the United Kingdom comes amid heightened transatlantic tensions, domestic political shifts in both countries and increased attention on Vance's foreign policy views as he emerges as a key figure in President Donald Trump's administration. A source familiar with the planning described the trip as a working visit that will include several official engagements, meetings and visits to cultural sites. Vance is also expected to meet with U.S. troops. More: JD Vance reacts to brutal parody in latest 'South Park' episode Vance has championed an America First foreign policy and once said last year's election victory for the centre-left Labour Party meant Britain was 'maybe' the first 'truly Islamist' country with a nuclear weapon. He also attacked the United Kingdom for undermining freedom of speech and placing the 'basic liberties of religious Britons in the crosshairs." Lammy once called Trump a "far right extremist" and a "neo-Nazi" but since coming to power has brushed off his remarks as 'old news." Despite their differences, the pair has developed a warm friendship, bonding over their difficult childhoods and shared Christian faith, according to two officials familiar with the relationship. Lammy attended Mass at the vice president's Washington residence during a visit in March, and the two leaders met again in Rome in May for Pope Leo XIV's inaugural Mass, the officials said. The bilateral meeting on Friday lacks a formal agenda, officials said, but is likely to touch on the Ukraine and Gaza crises, along with trade issues. More: MAGA's next leader? Trump says Vance is 'most likely' to lead in 2028 The United Kingdom has been pushing Trump to support Ukraine in its war with Russia and to accelerate efforts to bring a humanitarian crisis in Gaza to an end. But Lammy is unlikely to press aggressively, said Bronwen Maddox, a director at the think tank Chatham House. "It's a chance to get UK perspective in there, but they're not looking for conflict," Maddox said, adding that British officials are content with the trade deal they struck with Trump. "I don't mean this is any cynical way, but the UK is glad of relationships where it can get them with the Trump administration," she added. Vance's visit comes shortly after Trump traveled to Scotland for a private visit that included meetings with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who struck a framework trade agreement with the U.S. imposing a 15% import tariff on most European Union goods. Trump is also scheduled for a full state visit to the United Kingdom in September, making him the first elected political leader in modern times to be hosted for two state visits by a British monarch. Vance's winter vacation earlier this year in Vermont was disturbed by throngs of protestors angered by the administration's anti-immigration policies and handling of the Ukraine crisis. A coalition of trade unions, pro-Palestinian demonstrators and climate activists are reportedly warning that Vance will face similar backlash in Britain in the coming days. (Reporting by Jarrett RenshawEditing by Colleen Jenkins and Lincoln Feast)
