The Art of the Schlemiel
When Italy’s Jasmine Paolini played Veronika Kedermetova at the Cincinnati Masters over the weekend, the score showed no Russian flag next to Kedermetova’s name and her nationality wasn’t mentioned by the arena announcer when she walked on the court. That’s how it is for Russian athletes since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. But while these athletes’ nationality is shunned, the madman, expansionist, war criminal responsible for that shunning was welcomed onto America soil and back into the international arena by a clapping US president standing on a long red carpet. This was just one of many visuals and deal points that turned the Alaska summit into a new low point for American leadership. As Anne Applebaum explains: “There is not much else to say about yesterday’s Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska, other than to observe the intertwining elements of tragedy and farce. It was embarrassing for Americans to welcome a notorious wanted war criminal on their territory. It was humiliating to watch an American president act like a happy puppy upon encountering the dictator of a much poorer, much less important state, treating him as a superior.” Of course, none of this comes as any surprise. The Atlantic (Gift Article): Trump Has No Cards. By immediately giving up his demand for a ceasefire and embracing Putin on the global stage, he reminded the world that American policy is a few cards short of a deck.
+ Which brings us to today’s follow-up summit with Zelensky, who is being joined by a large group of European leaders. They are obviously there to sway, cajole, convince, and even manipulate an American president into understanding that in the battle between a brutal, expansion-minded, invader and Western Democracy, the latter is the good guy. If history is any indicator, that won’t be an easy sell.
+ Trump spent part of his press appearance with Zelensky arguing against mail-in voting, which he said Putin explained could never be fair. No, I’m not making that up. There were also more jokes about Zelensky’s attire. I’m guessing no one is laughing harder than Vladamir Putin. Let’s hope that, behind the scenes, European leaders can remind Trump of whose side we’re supposed to be on. The talks mostly focused on two issues: Land and security guarantees. Here’s the latest from the NYT, BBC, and NBC.
