Trump, Putin's high-stakes meeting
In today's issue:
Trump is en route to Alaska, chats on Air Force One
How will the high-stakes summit go?
D.C. sues Trump to stop police takeover
Kristi Noem's highly unusual rent-free living
D.C. restaurant week begins Monday
The meeting at the Dragonpit:
President Trump is currently on Air Force One, flying to Alaska for his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in years. The stakes are incredibly high. This summit could determine the next phase of Russia-Ukraine war.
Trump has given Putin a tight deadline to agree to a peace deal — or else.
Trump's goal: If today' meeting goes well, Trump hopes to organize a follow-up meeting with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Though, many U.S. leaders are skeptical of Putin's intentions.
What does Trump expect?: He spoke with reporters this morning, saying he expects to know very quickly into the meeting whether it is going well or not. Other key lines from Trump:
He said Putin would take all of Ukraine if he weren't president: 'Vladimir Putin wanted to take all of Ukraine. If I wasn't president, he would right now be taking all of Ukraine, but he's not going to do it,' Trump said.
Trump is not negotiating on behalf of Ukraine: 'I'm not here to negotiate for Ukraine,' Trump said, arguing his mission is to get Ukraine to 'the table.'
What does Trump think about territory swaps?:Trump said it's ultimately up to Ukraine to decide. For context: Putin has suggested Ukraine ceding land to Russia as part of a peace agreement, but Zelensky said 'no.'
Trump says Putin is bringing businesspeople: Trump noted on Air Force One that Putin is bringing several businesspeople along for the trip. However, Trump said the U.S. is 'not doing business until the war is settled.'
The New York Times's David E. Sanger breaks down the three ways this meeting could unfold: 'A sudden feud, an impasse or a first step toward a cease-fire are all possible.' Read: 'How Trump's Meeting With Putin Could Unfold'
Today's timing: The leaders are expected to meet one-on-one around 3:30 p.m. EDT, followed by a joint press conference.
The Hill's Brett Samuels is in the White House press pool and has a front-row seat to watch today unfold. Follow him!
🗨 ️ Follow today's live blog — I find this particularly useful on days like today with a lot of moving parts.
➤ SIGHTS AND SOUNDS:
📸 Trump boarding Air Force One
🏒📹 Putin stopped in far eastern Russia to meet with young hockey players
📝 List of people traveling with Trump
➤ BACK AT HOME:
'Republicans are starting to acknowledge Ukraine will need another major military aid package from Congress, despite Vice President Vance 's pledge last year that Congress would not approve another assistance package on the scale of what lawmakers passed in 2024,' reports The Hill's Alexander Bolton.
How lawmakers are feeling about today's meeting: 'There is broad skepticism among Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill that Putin is serious about a deal or could be counted on to uphold his end of any bargain.'
➤ MORE READS:
Axios: Putin visits U.S. for Trump summit as a peer, not a pariah
The Atlantic: The U.S.-Russia Summit Is Already a Win for Putin
Foreign Policy: How Putin Tricked Trump
CNN: How Trump and Putin's relationship has evolved since they first met eight years ago
The Washington Post: How Putin, ex-KGB officer, will seek to sway Trump at Alaska summit
🚓 IN DC
DC is fighting back:
Washington, D.C., is challenging President Trump 's attempted takeover of its police department.
What happened today?: D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb (D) sued the Trump administration after it installed the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) head to lead the city's police force.
Schwalb's argument: The DEA administrator's appointment as 'emergency commissioner' exceeds the limitations of the D.C. Home Rule Act. (That's the act Trump has invoked to take over the D.C. police department.) Read more on the lawsuit
🔎 Read the 33-page complaint
Tidbit: CBS's Scott MacFarlane noted, 'Washington D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Dept is now referring media inquiries to the White House Press Office. That is….. quite a change … for a major American police force.'
➤ ANOTHER UPDATE:
Attorney General Pam Bondi signed an order late Thursday to end D.C.'s 'sanctuary policies.'
Happening this afternoon:
'Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced a second special session on Friday after state lawmakers gaveled out their first special session earlier that morning amid the ongoing redistricting fight,' reports The Hill's Caroline Vakil.
For context: 'Texas Democrats are expected to return to the state soon, noting that two conditions had to be met before arriving back to the Lone Star State: Texas Republicans adjourning their first special session and California's introduction of new congressional lines aimed at neutralizing the expected gains from Texas' proposed House map.'
Kristi Noem's 'highly unusual' living arrangement:
The Washington Post published exclusive reporting late this morning — 'Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem is living for free in a military home typically reserved for the U.S. Coast Guard's top admiral, officials familiar with the matter said.'
Why?: 'She did so because of concerns over her safety after the Daily Mail, a British tabloid, published photographs in April of the area around Noem's residence in Washington's Navy Yard neighborhood, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said … McLaughlin described Noem's time at the commandant's residence as temporary. She did not specify how long the setup would last or how long Noem has lived there.'
This is turning some heads: 'The highly unusual arrangement has raised concern within the agency and from some Democrats, who describe it as a waste of military resources.'
The New York Times: SpaceX Gets Billions From the Government. It Gives Little to Nothing Back in Taxes.
The Hill: Trump signals push to finish Biden's marijuana reform
The Washington Post: ICE documents reveal plan to double immigrant detention space this year
Op-ed in The Hill: Stephen Miller 's revenge? Duke is now in the crosshairs
^ This has been our most-read article this morning.
COMING UP
The House and Senate are out. 🌴President Trump is en route to Alaska. (All times EST)
3:30 p.m.: Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
9:45 p.m.: Trump leaves Alaska and flies back to the White House.
🐝 INTERNET BUZZ
🍋 Celebrate: Today is National Lemon Meringue Pie Day.
🐮 Americans are really into cows rn: Beef tallow, bone broth, bovine collagen and other cow-based products are all very trendy right now.
Excerpt — omg, this is a lot: 'You can buy cow-placenta pills for postpartum healing, or powdered bull testicle for testosterone support. The slightest interaction with clean-beauty Instagram can fill your feed with ads for beef-tallow lip balms, cleansing creams, sunscreen, and deodorants.' Read The Atlantic's reporting: 'Americans Are All In on Cow-Based Wellness'
🪥 What made me lose my appetite: The Washington Post's Mark Johnson writes, ' The potential key to upgrading toothpaste? Sheep's wool and human hair.'
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Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Love in a cold climate: Putin romances Trump in Alaska with talk of rigged elections and a trip to Moscow
That was the moment he knew it was true love. Donald Trump turned to gaze at Vladimir Putin as the Russian president publicly endorsed his view that, had Trump been president instead of Joe Biden, the war in Ukraine would never have happened. 'Today President Trump was saying that if he was president back then, there would be no war, and I'm quite sure that it would indeed be so,' Putin said. 'I can confirm that.' Vladimir, you complete me, Trump might have replied. To hell with all those Democrats, democrats, wokesters, fake news reporters and factcheckers. Here is a man who speaks my authoritarian alternative facts language. The damned doubters had been worried about Friday's big summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, a cold war-era airbase under a big sky and picturesque mountains on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska. Related: No Ukraine ceasefire but a PR victory for Putin: key takeaways from Trump's Alaska summit with Russian president They feared that it might resemble Neville Chamberlain's appeasement of Adolf Hitler in Munich 1938, or Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin carving up the world for the great powers at the Yalta Conference in 1945. It was worse than that. Trump, 79, purportedly the most powerful man in the world, literally rolled out the red carpet for a Russian dictator indicted for alleged war crimes over the abduction and transfer of thousands of Ukrainian children. Putin's troops have also been accused of indiscriminate murder, rape and torture on an appalling scale. In more than 100 countries, the 72-year-old would have been arrested the moment he set foot on the tarmac. In America, he was treated to a spontaneous burst of applause from the waiting Trump, who gave him a long, lingering handshake and a ride in 'the Beast', the presidential limousine. Putin could be seen cackling on the back seat, looking like the cat who got the cream. As a former KGB man, did he leave behind a bug or two? Three hours later, the men walked on stage for an anticlimactic 12-minute press conference against a blue backdrop printed with the words 'Pursuing peace'. Putin is reportedly 170cm (5.7ft) tall, while Trump is 190cm (6.3ft), yet the Russian seemed be the dominant figure. Curiously, given that the US was hosting, Putin was allowed to speak first, which gave him the opportunity to frame the narrative. More curiously still, the deferential Trump spoke for less time than his counterpart, though he did slip in a compliment: 'I've always had a fantastic relationship with President Putin – with Vladimir.' The low-energy Trump declined to take any questions from reporters – a rare thing indeed for the attention monster and wizard of 'the weave' – and shed little light on the prospect of a ceasefire in Ukraine. Perhaps he wanted to give his old pals at Fox News the exclusive. Having snubbed the world's media, Trump promptly sat down and spilled the beans – well, a few of them – to host Sean Hannity, a cheerleader who has even spoken at a Trump rally. The president revealed: 'Vladimir Putin said something – one of the most interesting things. He said: 'Your election was rigged because you have mail-in voting … No country has mail-in voting. It's impossible to have mail-in voting and have honest elections.' 'And he said that to me because we talked about 2020. He said: 'You won that election by so much and that's how we got here.' He said: 'And if you would have won, we wouldn't have had a war. You'd have all these millions of people alive now instead of dead. And he said: 'You lost it because of mail-in voting. It was a rigged election.'' In other words, the leader of one of the world's oldest democracies was taking advice from a man who won last year's Russian election with more than 87% of the vote and changed the constitution so he can stay in power until 2036. In this warped retelling of history, the insurrectionists of January 6 were actually trying to stop a war. Evidently Putin knows that whispering Trump's favourite lies into his ear is the way to his heart. It worked. The Russian leader, visiting the United States for the first time in a decade, got his wish of being welcomed back on the world stage and made to look the equal of the US president. He could also go home reassured that, despite a recent rough patch, and despite Trump's brief bromance with Elon Musk, he loves you yeah, yeah, yeah. 'Next time in Moscow,' he told Trump in English. 'Oh, that's an interesting one,' the US president responded. 'I'll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening.' Trump's humiliation was complete. But all was not lost. At least no one was talking about Jeffrey Epstein or the price of vegetables.
Washington Post
22 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Trump, Putin break off summit with no Ukraine deal
Politics Trump, Putin break off summit with no Ukraine deal August 16, 2025 | 5:43 AM GMT President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached no agreement to end the war in Ukraine on Aug. 15. The Post's Michael Birnbaum explains.
CNN
22 minutes ago
- CNN
Live updates: Trump-Putin summit ends without concrete deal on Ukraine
Update: Date: 20 min ago Title: Analysis: No deal in Alaska, but Putin still walks away with some big wins Content: Ukraine could have had a worse night. No deal was cooked up without them. US President Donald Trump looked upset and tired. Perhaps because Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared unbowed, still talking about the 'root causes' of the war, and sounding unreformed. In what sounded like a threat, he even warned Kyiv and its European allies to not meddle in whatever ongoing process he believes he has dragged Trump into. 'We expect that Kyiv and European capitals will perceive all this in a constructive manner and will not create any obstacles, will not make attempts to disrupt the emerging progress through provocations and behind-the-scenes intrigues,' Putin said. Trump's call to Kyiv and its NATO allies may present some sort of framework that Putin deemed an 'agreement,' but ultimately in the look on Trump's face and his words, it was clear he made no significant deal that he thinks will fly. The two didn't even have lunch together and Putin raced out on his plane. The hardest bits of negotiations are the bits that are left to be agreed at the end. And Trump's statement that there were some 'big' things left unsolved suggests little movement on issues like what land Putin wants and a ceasefire. But there are two big wins here for Putin. First, the remarkable vision of a red carpet welcome to the United States and a ride in 'the Beast' — which both present as an extraordinary form of reputational rehabilitation for an alleged war criminal. It was a horrific sight for many Ukrainians; soured further still by the Kremlin head calling Ukraine a 'brotherly' nation, despite murdering its civilians for three and a half years. The second win is time. Putin has bought more for his forces to advance across the frontline. It is unclear if Trump is sufficiently riled that secondary sanctions may follow in the days ahead. But Putin did not seem to behave as if he was in a hurry, suggesting further meetings and ongoing work. Time matters as Putin's summer offensive is close to turning incremental gains into strategic wins. In the end, Ukraine will wake up with its world unchanged. A ghastly world, but with no sudden US-Russian rapprochement or deal to try and swallow. Update: Date: 20 min ago Title: Key lines from Trump and Putin's joint press briefing Content: No one really knows what Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin discussed yesterday during their lengthy summit in Alaska, as the two did not take questions from reporters after a joint news briefing. But the closed-door talks were ultimately characterized positively by both leaders, even though a critical deal on ending the war in Ukraine was not reached. Here are key lines from the briefing that you should know: Breaking tradition: Putin began remarks at the briefing by acknowledging that US-Russia relations have suffered in recent years. Usually when an American president hosts a foreign counterpart, a joint news conference would begin with remarks from the US leader followed by his guest. Progress on reaching a deal: Trump said he and Putin 'made some headway' and 'great progress' in their bilateral meeting. Still, he added, 'there's no deal until there's a deal.' Putin said the primary causes of the war must be eliminated for the war in Ukraine to end. The Russian leader also told Ukrainian and European leaders not to interfere with 'the emerging progress.' Positive summary: Negotiations between Putin and Trump were held in a 'respectful, constructive and mutually respectful atmosphere,' Putin said. Trump said they had 'an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to.' Other topics mentioned: Putin said he agrees that the security of Ukraine should be ensured. He also claimed at one point that the war in Ukraine would not have happened had Trump been president in 2022. What's next: Trump said he has various calls to make following the summit — some of which include calls to NATO, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other appropriate officials. CNN's Aditi Sangal, Nina Subkhanberdina, Darya Tarasova, Michael Rios, Kit Maher, Tori B. Powell, Kevin Liptak, Katharina Krebs, Mitchell McCluskey, and Adam Cancryn contributed reporting. Update: Date: 20 min ago Title: Trump says striking a deal now up to Zelensky Content: President Donald Trump is putting the onus on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate a ceasefire, saying yesterday evening that there would soon be a meeting set up between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'Now it's really up to President Zelensky to get it done,' Trump said in a Fox News interview following his sitdown with Putin in Alaska. 'They're going to set up a meeting now between President Zelensky and President Putin and myself, I guess.' Trump during the interview declined to detail the final issues that are holding up a deal, saying only that he wants 'to see what we can get done.' But despite not reaching an agreement on yesterday, he touted the summit as a success, ranking the meeting a 10 out of 10, 'in the sense that we got along great.' 'I want to make sure it gets done,' he added. 'And we have a pretty good chance of getting it done.' Update: Date: 20 min ago Title: Analysis: Russian media ecstatic as US rolls out the red carpet for Putin Content: In Russia, the reaction to the summit between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump has been more than positive. Russian media was ecstatic when the Russian leader received applause from the US president as the red carpet was literally rolled out for Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. 'For years they have been talking about the isolation of Russia, and today they saw the red carpet that greeted the Russian president,' Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry wrote on social media. While both Trump and Putin said agreements have been reached, it's unclear what exactly those are. Meanwhile, Putin does not appear to have backed down from Russia's core demands. The Russian leader in his remarks after the meeting said any deal needs 'to consider all legitimate concerns of Russia and to reinstate a just balance of security in Europe and in the world on the whole.' It's not clear how much progress was made toward a ceasefire in Ukraine, but both Trump and Putin have said they ultimately want to normalize relations between the US and Russia and they want to meet again. 'Next time in Moscow,' Russia's leader said. Update: Date: 20 min ago Title: Eastern European officials react with skepticism to Putin's comments Content: Senior government officials in Eastern Europe have reacted with skepticism to comments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin following the Alaska summit. While saying he was interested in ending the conflict, Putin said the primary causes needed to be 'eliminated' for that to happen, adding that the 'situation in Ukraine' had to do with 'fundamental threats to (Russia's) security.' In a post on X on Saturday morning local time, Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene accused Putin of 'more gaslighting and veiled threats,' a reference to the Russian leader issuing a warning to Ukraine and Europe not to 'sabotage' progress made at the summit. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said in a statement that he welcomed US President Donald Trump's efforts but doubted Putin's interest in a deal, according to Reuters. 'If Putin were serious about negotiating peace, he would not have been attacking Ukraine all day today,' he said. Update: Date: 20 min ago Title: US and Russia to continue building relations despite "resistance," top Kremlin negotiator Kirill Dmitriev says Content: Russia's top economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev said the US received Russia 'very well' in Alaska and that the two countries would continue building relations despite 'resistance.' 'The US-Russia summit in Alaska has definitely been productive,' Dmitriev said, adding that there were 'lots of issues that we discussed and many we agreed.' 'Some of them are to be agreed and definitely it's very important that President (Donald) Trump outlines a significant economic potential of cooperation between the US and Russia,' Dmitriev said. 'We will continue building US-Russia relations going forward despite lots of the resistance to this, but we will continue strengthening US-Russia ties.' Update: Date: 21 min ago Title: "It was positive that there was no deal," CNN's Fareed Zakaria says Content: The red-carpet welcome in Alaska for Russian President Vladimir Putin signals that US President Donald Trump 'thinks Putin is, you know, an equal,' says CNN's Fareed Zakaria. Trump treated Putin like 'this big shot on the world stage, and he's been treated by the rest of the west as a kind of pariah,' Zakaria said, referring to an ICC war crimes warrant issued for the Russian president's arrest that restricts his movements around the globe. 'So there was a lot of the atmospherics that were cringeworthy,' he said. However, Zakaria said that in his analysis, 'it was a positive that there was no deal.'I think everyone was worried that there was going to be a deal in which Trump was going to make major concessions. I don't think anyone thought Putin was going to make any concessions. The fear was that Donald Trump was going to cave in the various ways — sell out Ukraine, sell out Europeans. And he didn't do that. And so I think, you know, I'm at least relieved,' Zakaria said. Update: Date: 20 min ago Title: Trump and Putin skipped Q&A because 'exhaustive statements were made,' Kremlin spokesperson says Content: US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin skipped answering questions at yesterday's joint news conference because their statements said it all, according to the Kremlin's spokesperson. 'Exhaustive statements were made,' Dmitry Peskov said when asked why the two leaders only delivered remarks at the news conference, according to Russia's RIA Novosti news agency. 'The conversation is really very positive, and the two presidents spoke about it. This is the very conversation that allows us to confidently continue moving forward together on the path of seeking resolution options,' Peskov said, RIA reported. Update: Date: 11 min ago Title: Trump says he and Putin made "great progress" toward a deal and that he's calling Zelensky and NATO leaders Content: US President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin 'made some headway' and 'great progress' in their bilateral meeting, but added that 'there's no deal until there's a deal.' 'I will call up NATO in a little while. I will call up the various people that I think are appropriate. And I'll, of course, call up President [Volodymyr] Zelensky and tell him about today's meeting. It's ultimately up to them,' Trump said after today's summit in Anchorage, Alaska.'We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to,' Trump said, adding, 'We didn't get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.' Trump added that Ukraine would have to 'agree' with what Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and others in his administration discussed with Putin today, though he did not delve into specifics on any framework for a deal. Trump and Putin took no questions after their statements. Putin kicked of remarks and spoke for about eight minutes. Trump, who is known for typically longer and at times free-wheeling news conferences, only spoke for about four minutes. 'I'm going to start making a few phone calls and tell them what happened,' Trump said.
