Women in media to discuss challenges, hopes for sector
The Women in Media conference brings together women from across the sector, including public relations, marketing, journalism, arts and entertainment, production, screen, digital, publishing and advertising.
The annual conference in Sydney on Friday comes as many women are being driven out of the industry by financial pressures, stalled growth and lack of progress on gender equity.
An industry report released in June found career dissatisfaction among women in the media had risen to 59 per cent - the highest level in four years.
More than a decade after she first visited Australia to promote her book The End of Men: and The Rise of Women, journalist and podcaster Hanna Rosin is returning to headline the conference as a keynote speaker.
Rosin, a senior editor at The Atlantic, will be joined by high-profile speakers including actor and director Claudia Karvan, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher, journalist Bridget Brennan and award-winning author Shankari Chandran.
When she published The End of Men in 2012, Rosin said she believed the world could go in one of two directions.
Either gender roles would be loosened, with more men taking on roles in care and education, or there would be backlash, Rosin thought.
"When you have a rise of women, there can be a lot of backlash," she told AAP.
"The manosphere was fringe back then and we associated it with incels. Now it is mainstream."
The election of President Donald Trump for the second time has also hardened gender roles in the United States, with the administration shutting down diversity, equity and inclusion programs it says are a form of discrimination.
"It is surreal living here (in the US) now and feeling the force-back of decades of women's rights," Rosin said.
Her keynote speech will be about the changes she has observed in gender, power and politics in America in the past decade.
She will discuss how the media and workplaces have changed and the age of social media.
"The conference has caught me at a good time because a lot of American women were stunned into silence after Trump 2.0," she said.
"There was no revolt like there was in 2017 but I feel like we are all now waking up again."
The future of media, gender equity in workplaces and backlash against programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion will be in the spotlight at a national conference.
The Women in Media conference brings together women from across the sector, including public relations, marketing, journalism, arts and entertainment, production, screen, digital, publishing and advertising.
The annual conference in Sydney on Friday comes as many women are being driven out of the industry by financial pressures, stalled growth and lack of progress on gender equity.
An industry report released in June found career dissatisfaction among women in the media had risen to 59 per cent - the highest level in four years.
More than a decade after she first visited Australia to promote her book The End of Men: and The Rise of Women, journalist and podcaster Hanna Rosin is returning to headline the conference as a keynote speaker.
Rosin, a senior editor at The Atlantic, will be joined by high-profile speakers including actor and director Claudia Karvan, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher, journalist Bridget Brennan and award-winning author Shankari Chandran.
When she published The End of Men in 2012, Rosin said she believed the world could go in one of two directions.
Either gender roles would be loosened, with more men taking on roles in care and education, or there would be backlash, Rosin thought.
"When you have a rise of women, there can be a lot of backlash," she told AAP.
"The manosphere was fringe back then and we associated it with incels. Now it is mainstream."
The election of President Donald Trump for the second time has also hardened gender roles in the United States, with the administration shutting down diversity, equity and inclusion programs it says are a form of discrimination.
"It is surreal living here (in the US) now and feeling the force-back of decades of women's rights," Rosin said.
Her keynote speech will be about the changes she has observed in gender, power and politics in America in the past decade.
She will discuss how the media and workplaces have changed and the age of social media.
"The conference has caught me at a good time because a lot of American women were stunned into silence after Trump 2.0," she said.
"There was no revolt like there was in 2017 but I feel like we are all now waking up again."
The future of media, gender equity in workplaces and backlash against programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion will be in the spotlight at a national conference.
The Women in Media conference brings together women from across the sector, including public relations, marketing, journalism, arts and entertainment, production, screen, digital, publishing and advertising.
The annual conference in Sydney on Friday comes as many women are being driven out of the industry by financial pressures, stalled growth and lack of progress on gender equity.
An industry report released in June found career dissatisfaction among women in the media had risen to 59 per cent - the highest level in four years.
More than a decade after she first visited Australia to promote her book The End of Men: and The Rise of Women, journalist and podcaster Hanna Rosin is returning to headline the conference as a keynote speaker.
Rosin, a senior editor at The Atlantic, will be joined by high-profile speakers including actor and director Claudia Karvan, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher, journalist Bridget Brennan and award-winning author Shankari Chandran.
When she published The End of Men in 2012, Rosin said she believed the world could go in one of two directions.
Either gender roles would be loosened, with more men taking on roles in care and education, or there would be backlash, Rosin thought.
"When you have a rise of women, there can be a lot of backlash," she told AAP.
"The manosphere was fringe back then and we associated it with incels. Now it is mainstream."
The election of President Donald Trump for the second time has also hardened gender roles in the United States, with the administration shutting down diversity, equity and inclusion programs it says are a form of discrimination.
"It is surreal living here (in the US) now and feeling the force-back of decades of women's rights," Rosin said.
Her keynote speech will be about the changes she has observed in gender, power and politics in America in the past decade.
She will discuss how the media and workplaces have changed and the age of social media.
"The conference has caught me at a good time because a lot of American women were stunned into silence after Trump 2.0," she said.
"There was no revolt like there was in 2017 but I feel like we are all now waking up again."
The future of media, gender equity in workplaces and backlash against programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion will be in the spotlight at a national conference.
The Women in Media conference brings together women from across the sector, including public relations, marketing, journalism, arts and entertainment, production, screen, digital, publishing and advertising.
The annual conference in Sydney on Friday comes as many women are being driven out of the industry by financial pressures, stalled growth and lack of progress on gender equity.
An industry report released in June found career dissatisfaction among women in the media had risen to 59 per cent - the highest level in four years.
More than a decade after she first visited Australia to promote her book The End of Men: and The Rise of Women, journalist and podcaster Hanna Rosin is returning to headline the conference as a keynote speaker.
Rosin, a senior editor at The Atlantic, will be joined by high-profile speakers including actor and director Claudia Karvan, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher, journalist Bridget Brennan and award-winning author Shankari Chandran.
When she published The End of Men in 2012, Rosin said she believed the world could go in one of two directions.
Either gender roles would be loosened, with more men taking on roles in care and education, or there would be backlash, Rosin thought.
"When you have a rise of women, there can be a lot of backlash," she told AAP.
"The manosphere was fringe back then and we associated it with incels. Now it is mainstream."
The election of President Donald Trump for the second time has also hardened gender roles in the United States, with the administration shutting down diversity, equity and inclusion programs it says are a form of discrimination.
"It is surreal living here (in the US) now and feeling the force-back of decades of women's rights," Rosin said.
Her keynote speech will be about the changes she has observed in gender, power and politics in America in the past decade.
She will discuss how the media and workplaces have changed and the age of social media.
"The conference has caught me at a good time because a lot of American women were stunned into silence after Trump 2.0," she said.
"There was no revolt like there was in 2017 but I feel like we are all now waking up again."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
4 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Vladimir Putin praises Donald Trump's ‘energetic and sincere' peace efforts ahead of Alaska summit
Russia's Vladimir Putin sounded positive Thursday on the eve of his talks with US President Donald Trump in Alaska, saying he believed the American leader was making 'quite energetic and sincere efforts' toward peace in Ukraine. A day ahead of their summit, Putin convened a meeting of advisers 'to inform you about how the negotiation process on the Ukrainian crisis is going,' the Kremlin said in a readout translated by NBC News. The Russian leader said the Trump administration 'is making, in my opinion, quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the fighting, stop the crisis and reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved in this conflict.' Those efforts are intended 'to create long-term conditions of peace between our countries and in Europe, and in the world as a whole,' he added, particularly if the negotiations extended to cover strategic offensive weapons treaties. This suggests that a deal on nuclear arms control could be part of the talks. Russia suspended its participation in the New START 'reduction in strategic offensive arms' agreement in 2023. Earlier Thursday, Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said the summit would start with head-to-head talks between Trump, Putin and their translators at 11.30am local time (5.30am Saturday AEST) and would be followed by a joint news conference. The White House later confirmed this. Trump 'wants to exhaust all options to try to bring this war to a peaceful resolution,' Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News. The top-level Russian delegation will include Putin, Ushakov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Putin's longtime friend and investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, Ushakov said on a call with journalists in Moscow. The primary topic of the meeting will be Ukraine, he said, but he added that he expected the 'huge, and unfortunately hitherto untapped, potential' of economic ties between the US and Russia would also be discussed. As well as Putin's openly stated goal of subjugating Ukraine, he also wants to end Russia's exile from the Western financial system following economic sanctions imposed by Washington, the European Union and others. Trump has not yet lifted these punishments but has expressed a desire to end Russia's economic pariah status. The Trump-Putin summit has prompted howls of dismay and anxiety across Ukraine and Europe, which have not been invited to the talks and fear what the American president may agree to with his Russian counterpart about the conflict raging on their continent. They have been confined to their own diplomatic scrambling, including dozens of calls between Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other leaders, culminating in a video call between these parties and Trump himself Wednesday. Zelenskyy said that Putin 'is bluffing' in saying he wants peace. On Thursday, the Ukrainian leader flew to London and met his British counterpart, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, for what both called a 'productive meeting.' As well as the prospect of Britain financing the small drones that have become central to Ukraine's battlefield defense, the pair discussed the Alaska talks, 'which present a viable chance to make progress as long as Putin takes action to prove he is serious about peace,' a spokesperson from Starmer's office, No.10 Downing St, said in a statement. After Wednesday's call with Zelenskyy, Starmer and others, Trump said he had assured them that there would be 'very severe consequences' — without elaborating what those might be — if Putin did not agree to end the war during their sit-down discussion. Two European officials and three other people briefed on the call told NBC News that he told them he would not discuss possible divisions of territory with the man flying in from the Kremlin.
Sky News AU
6 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Trump admin increasingly worried Australia isn't ‘pulling its weight' on defence
Sky News host Sharri Markson says the US Defence Department is increasingly concerned that Australia isn't 'pulling its weight' when it comes to defence. A US defence official told The Australian newspaper that American allies have to 'do their part'. 'All countries have political difficulties. All countries have fiscal difficulties.'
The Advertiser
7 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Trump-Putin relationship takes spotlight at summit
Donald Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska could be a decisive moment for both the war in Ukraine and the US leader's anomalous relationship with his Russian counterpart. Trump has long boasted that he has gotten along well with Putin and spoken admiringly of him, even praising him as "pretty smart" for invading Ukraine. But in recent months, he's expressed frustrations with Putin and threatened more sanctions on his country. At the same time, Trump has offered conflicting messages about his expectations for Friday's summit. He has called it "really a feel-out meeting" to gauge Putin's openness to a ceasefire but also warned of "very severe consequences" if Putin does not agree to end the war. For Putin, the meeting is a chance to repair his relationship with Trump and unlace the West's isolation of his country following its invasion of Ukraine. He has been open about his desire to rebuild US-Russia relations now that Trump is back in the White House. The White House has dismissed any suggestion that Trump's agreeing to sit down with Putin is a win for the Russian leader. But critics suggest the meeting gives Putin an opportunity to get in Trump's ear to the detriment of Ukraine, whose leader was excluded from the summit. Here's a look back at the ups and downs of Trump and Putin's relationship: * Russia questions during the 2016 campaign Months before he was first elected president, Trump cast doubt on findings from US intelligence agencies that Russian government hackers had stolen emails from Democrats, including his opponent Hillary Clinton, and released them in an effort to hurt her campaign and boost Trump's. In one 2016 appearance, he shockingly called on Russian hackers to find emails that Clinton had reportedly deleted. "Russia, if you're listening," Trump said, "I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing." Questions about his connections to Russia dogged much of his first term, touching off investigations by the Justice Department and Congress and leading to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, who secured multiple convictions against Trump aides and allies but did not establish proof of a criminal conspiracy between Moscow and the Trump campaign. These days, Trump describes the Russia investigation as an affinity he and Putin shared. "Putin went through a hell of a lot with me," Trump said earlier in 2025 of what he called a "phoney witch hunt". Putin in 2019 mocked the investigation's findings, saying, "A mountain gave birth to a mouse." * 'He just said it's not Russia' Trump met Putin six times during his first term, including a 2018 summit in Helsinki, when Trump stunned the world by appearing to side with an American adversary about whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election. "I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today," Trump said. "He just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be." Facing intense blowback, Trump tried to walk back the comment a day later. But clouded that reversal by saying other countries could have also interfered. Putin referred to Helsinki summit as "the beginning of the path" back from Western efforts to isolate Russia. He also made clear that he had wanted Trump to win in 2016. * Trump calls Putin 'pretty smart' after invasion of Ukraine The two leaders kept up their friendly relationship after Trump left the White House under protest in 2021. After Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, Trump described the Russian leader in positive terms. "I mean, he's taking over a country for two dollars' worth of sanctions. I'd say that's pretty smart," Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago resort. He later suggested Putin was going into Ukraine to "be a peacekeeper". Trump repeatedly said the invasion of Ukraine would never have happened if he had been president - a claim Putin endorsed while lending his support to Trump's false claims of election fraud. Through much of his campaign, Trump criticised US support for Ukraine and derided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a "salesman" for persuading Washington to provide weapons and funding to his country. * Revisiting the relationship Once he became president, Trump stopped claiming he would solve the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. In March, he said he was "being a little bit sarcastic" when he said that. In Trump's second term, Putin has pushed for a summit while trying to pivot from the Ukrainian conflict by emphasising the prospect of launching joint US-Russian economic projects, among other issues. "We'd better meet and have a calm conversation on all issues of interest to both the United States and Russia based on today's realities," Putin said in January. In February, things looked favourable for Putin when Trump had a blow-up with Zelenskiy at the White House, berating him as "disrespectful". But in April, as Russian strikes escalated, Trump posted a public plea on social media: "Vladimir, STOP!" He began voicing more frustration with the Russian leader, saying he was "Just tapping me along". Earlier in August, Trump ordered the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines "based on the highly provocative statements" of the country's former president, Dmitry Medvedev. Trump's vocal protests about Putin have tempered since he announced their meeting, but so have his predictions for what he might accomplish. On Monday, Trump described their summit not as the occasion in which he would finally get the conflict "settled" but instead as "really a feel-out meeting, a little bit". "I think it'll be good," Trump said. "But it might be bad." Donald Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska could be a decisive moment for both the war in Ukraine and the US leader's anomalous relationship with his Russian counterpart. Trump has long boasted that he has gotten along well with Putin and spoken admiringly of him, even praising him as "pretty smart" for invading Ukraine. But in recent months, he's expressed frustrations with Putin and threatened more sanctions on his country. At the same time, Trump has offered conflicting messages about his expectations for Friday's summit. He has called it "really a feel-out meeting" to gauge Putin's openness to a ceasefire but also warned of "very severe consequences" if Putin does not agree to end the war. For Putin, the meeting is a chance to repair his relationship with Trump and unlace the West's isolation of his country following its invasion of Ukraine. He has been open about his desire to rebuild US-Russia relations now that Trump is back in the White House. The White House has dismissed any suggestion that Trump's agreeing to sit down with Putin is a win for the Russian leader. But critics suggest the meeting gives Putin an opportunity to get in Trump's ear to the detriment of Ukraine, whose leader was excluded from the summit. Here's a look back at the ups and downs of Trump and Putin's relationship: * Russia questions during the 2016 campaign Months before he was first elected president, Trump cast doubt on findings from US intelligence agencies that Russian government hackers had stolen emails from Democrats, including his opponent Hillary Clinton, and released them in an effort to hurt her campaign and boost Trump's. In one 2016 appearance, he shockingly called on Russian hackers to find emails that Clinton had reportedly deleted. "Russia, if you're listening," Trump said, "I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing." Questions about his connections to Russia dogged much of his first term, touching off investigations by the Justice Department and Congress and leading to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, who secured multiple convictions against Trump aides and allies but did not establish proof of a criminal conspiracy between Moscow and the Trump campaign. These days, Trump describes the Russia investigation as an affinity he and Putin shared. "Putin went through a hell of a lot with me," Trump said earlier in 2025 of what he called a "phoney witch hunt". Putin in 2019 mocked the investigation's findings, saying, "A mountain gave birth to a mouse." * 'He just said it's not Russia' Trump met Putin six times during his first term, including a 2018 summit in Helsinki, when Trump stunned the world by appearing to side with an American adversary about whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election. "I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today," Trump said. "He just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be." Facing intense blowback, Trump tried to walk back the comment a day later. But clouded that reversal by saying other countries could have also interfered. Putin referred to Helsinki summit as "the beginning of the path" back from Western efforts to isolate Russia. He also made clear that he had wanted Trump to win in 2016. * Trump calls Putin 'pretty smart' after invasion of Ukraine The two leaders kept up their friendly relationship after Trump left the White House under protest in 2021. After Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, Trump described the Russian leader in positive terms. "I mean, he's taking over a country for two dollars' worth of sanctions. I'd say that's pretty smart," Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago resort. He later suggested Putin was going into Ukraine to "be a peacekeeper". Trump repeatedly said the invasion of Ukraine would never have happened if he had been president - a claim Putin endorsed while lending his support to Trump's false claims of election fraud. Through much of his campaign, Trump criticised US support for Ukraine and derided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a "salesman" for persuading Washington to provide weapons and funding to his country. * Revisiting the relationship Once he became president, Trump stopped claiming he would solve the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. In March, he said he was "being a little bit sarcastic" when he said that. In Trump's second term, Putin has pushed for a summit while trying to pivot from the Ukrainian conflict by emphasising the prospect of launching joint US-Russian economic projects, among other issues. "We'd better meet and have a calm conversation on all issues of interest to both the United States and Russia based on today's realities," Putin said in January. In February, things looked favourable for Putin when Trump had a blow-up with Zelenskiy at the White House, berating him as "disrespectful". But in April, as Russian strikes escalated, Trump posted a public plea on social media: "Vladimir, STOP!" He began voicing more frustration with the Russian leader, saying he was "Just tapping me along". Earlier in August, Trump ordered the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines "based on the highly provocative statements" of the country's former president, Dmitry Medvedev. Trump's vocal protests about Putin have tempered since he announced their meeting, but so have his predictions for what he might accomplish. On Monday, Trump described their summit not as the occasion in which he would finally get the conflict "settled" but instead as "really a feel-out meeting, a little bit". "I think it'll be good," Trump said. "But it might be bad." Donald Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska could be a decisive moment for both the war in Ukraine and the US leader's anomalous relationship with his Russian counterpart. Trump has long boasted that he has gotten along well with Putin and spoken admiringly of him, even praising him as "pretty smart" for invading Ukraine. But in recent months, he's expressed frustrations with Putin and threatened more sanctions on his country. At the same time, Trump has offered conflicting messages about his expectations for Friday's summit. He has called it "really a feel-out meeting" to gauge Putin's openness to a ceasefire but also warned of "very severe consequences" if Putin does not agree to end the war. For Putin, the meeting is a chance to repair his relationship with Trump and unlace the West's isolation of his country following its invasion of Ukraine. He has been open about his desire to rebuild US-Russia relations now that Trump is back in the White House. The White House has dismissed any suggestion that Trump's agreeing to sit down with Putin is a win for the Russian leader. But critics suggest the meeting gives Putin an opportunity to get in Trump's ear to the detriment of Ukraine, whose leader was excluded from the summit. Here's a look back at the ups and downs of Trump and Putin's relationship: * Russia questions during the 2016 campaign Months before he was first elected president, Trump cast doubt on findings from US intelligence agencies that Russian government hackers had stolen emails from Democrats, including his opponent Hillary Clinton, and released them in an effort to hurt her campaign and boost Trump's. In one 2016 appearance, he shockingly called on Russian hackers to find emails that Clinton had reportedly deleted. "Russia, if you're listening," Trump said, "I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing." Questions about his connections to Russia dogged much of his first term, touching off investigations by the Justice Department and Congress and leading to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, who secured multiple convictions against Trump aides and allies but did not establish proof of a criminal conspiracy between Moscow and the Trump campaign. These days, Trump describes the Russia investigation as an affinity he and Putin shared. "Putin went through a hell of a lot with me," Trump said earlier in 2025 of what he called a "phoney witch hunt". Putin in 2019 mocked the investigation's findings, saying, "A mountain gave birth to a mouse." * 'He just said it's not Russia' Trump met Putin six times during his first term, including a 2018 summit in Helsinki, when Trump stunned the world by appearing to side with an American adversary about whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election. "I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today," Trump said. "He just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be." Facing intense blowback, Trump tried to walk back the comment a day later. But clouded that reversal by saying other countries could have also interfered. Putin referred to Helsinki summit as "the beginning of the path" back from Western efforts to isolate Russia. He also made clear that he had wanted Trump to win in 2016. * Trump calls Putin 'pretty smart' after invasion of Ukraine The two leaders kept up their friendly relationship after Trump left the White House under protest in 2021. After Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, Trump described the Russian leader in positive terms. "I mean, he's taking over a country for two dollars' worth of sanctions. I'd say that's pretty smart," Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago resort. He later suggested Putin was going into Ukraine to "be a peacekeeper". Trump repeatedly said the invasion of Ukraine would never have happened if he had been president - a claim Putin endorsed while lending his support to Trump's false claims of election fraud. Through much of his campaign, Trump criticised US support for Ukraine and derided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a "salesman" for persuading Washington to provide weapons and funding to his country. * Revisiting the relationship Once he became president, Trump stopped claiming he would solve the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. In March, he said he was "being a little bit sarcastic" when he said that. In Trump's second term, Putin has pushed for a summit while trying to pivot from the Ukrainian conflict by emphasising the prospect of launching joint US-Russian economic projects, among other issues. "We'd better meet and have a calm conversation on all issues of interest to both the United States and Russia based on today's realities," Putin said in January. In February, things looked favourable for Putin when Trump had a blow-up with Zelenskiy at the White House, berating him as "disrespectful". But in April, as Russian strikes escalated, Trump posted a public plea on social media: "Vladimir, STOP!" He began voicing more frustration with the Russian leader, saying he was "Just tapping me along". Earlier in August, Trump ordered the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines "based on the highly provocative statements" of the country's former president, Dmitry Medvedev. Trump's vocal protests about Putin have tempered since he announced their meeting, but so have his predictions for what he might accomplish. On Monday, Trump described their summit not as the occasion in which he would finally get the conflict "settled" but instead as "really a feel-out meeting, a little bit". "I think it'll be good," Trump said. "But it might be bad." Donald Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska could be a decisive moment for both the war in Ukraine and the US leader's anomalous relationship with his Russian counterpart. Trump has long boasted that he has gotten along well with Putin and spoken admiringly of him, even praising him as "pretty smart" for invading Ukraine. But in recent months, he's expressed frustrations with Putin and threatened more sanctions on his country. At the same time, Trump has offered conflicting messages about his expectations for Friday's summit. He has called it "really a feel-out meeting" to gauge Putin's openness to a ceasefire but also warned of "very severe consequences" if Putin does not agree to end the war. For Putin, the meeting is a chance to repair his relationship with Trump and unlace the West's isolation of his country following its invasion of Ukraine. He has been open about his desire to rebuild US-Russia relations now that Trump is back in the White House. The White House has dismissed any suggestion that Trump's agreeing to sit down with Putin is a win for the Russian leader. But critics suggest the meeting gives Putin an opportunity to get in Trump's ear to the detriment of Ukraine, whose leader was excluded from the summit. Here's a look back at the ups and downs of Trump and Putin's relationship: * Russia questions during the 2016 campaign Months before he was first elected president, Trump cast doubt on findings from US intelligence agencies that Russian government hackers had stolen emails from Democrats, including his opponent Hillary Clinton, and released them in an effort to hurt her campaign and boost Trump's. In one 2016 appearance, he shockingly called on Russian hackers to find emails that Clinton had reportedly deleted. "Russia, if you're listening," Trump said, "I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing." Questions about his connections to Russia dogged much of his first term, touching off investigations by the Justice Department and Congress and leading to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, who secured multiple convictions against Trump aides and allies but did not establish proof of a criminal conspiracy between Moscow and the Trump campaign. These days, Trump describes the Russia investigation as an affinity he and Putin shared. "Putin went through a hell of a lot with me," Trump said earlier in 2025 of what he called a "phoney witch hunt". Putin in 2019 mocked the investigation's findings, saying, "A mountain gave birth to a mouse." * 'He just said it's not Russia' Trump met Putin six times during his first term, including a 2018 summit in Helsinki, when Trump stunned the world by appearing to side with an American adversary about whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election. "I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today," Trump said. "He just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be." Facing intense blowback, Trump tried to walk back the comment a day later. But clouded that reversal by saying other countries could have also interfered. Putin referred to Helsinki summit as "the beginning of the path" back from Western efforts to isolate Russia. He also made clear that he had wanted Trump to win in 2016. * Trump calls Putin 'pretty smart' after invasion of Ukraine The two leaders kept up their friendly relationship after Trump left the White House under protest in 2021. After Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, Trump described the Russian leader in positive terms. "I mean, he's taking over a country for two dollars' worth of sanctions. I'd say that's pretty smart," Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago resort. He later suggested Putin was going into Ukraine to "be a peacekeeper". Trump repeatedly said the invasion of Ukraine would never have happened if he had been president - a claim Putin endorsed while lending his support to Trump's false claims of election fraud. Through much of his campaign, Trump criticised US support for Ukraine and derided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a "salesman" for persuading Washington to provide weapons and funding to his country. * Revisiting the relationship Once he became president, Trump stopped claiming he would solve the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. In March, he said he was "being a little bit sarcastic" when he said that. In Trump's second term, Putin has pushed for a summit while trying to pivot from the Ukrainian conflict by emphasising the prospect of launching joint US-Russian economic projects, among other issues. "We'd better meet and have a calm conversation on all issues of interest to both the United States and Russia based on today's realities," Putin said in January. In February, things looked favourable for Putin when Trump had a blow-up with Zelenskiy at the White House, berating him as "disrespectful". But in April, as Russian strikes escalated, Trump posted a public plea on social media: "Vladimir, STOP!" He began voicing more frustration with the Russian leader, saying he was "Just tapping me along". Earlier in August, Trump ordered the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines "based on the highly provocative statements" of the country's former president, Dmitry Medvedev. Trump's vocal protests about Putin have tempered since he announced their meeting, but so have his predictions for what he might accomplish. On Monday, Trump described their summit not as the occasion in which he would finally get the conflict "settled" but instead as "really a feel-out meeting, a little bit". "I think it'll be good," Trump said. "But it might be bad."
