Trump to ‘Feel Out’ Putin in Alaska - Ukraine Not Invited
Seven months late on his 24-hour peace plan, Trump skips the invaded, skips the allies, and meets the invader - because in (his) war diplomacy, optics beat outcomes.
Donald Trump promised he’d end the Ukraine war in 24 hours. Fifty-three campaign pledges later, it’s taken him seven months just to start the clock. And the big plan? A “feel-out” meeting with Vladimir Putin… in Alaska… without Ukraine.”
This was the campaign promise he made: “I’ll get that done within 24 hours. Everyone says, ‘Oh no, you can’t.’ Absolutely I can.” The “that” was ending the Ukraine war. Not tariffs. Not billionaire tax cuts. Not deleting his name from the Epstein files. Ending the war. Twenty-four hours.
And yet, here we are - no war ended, no Ukrainian suffering eased.
But now - Art of the Deal alert - Trump is meeting Putin himself. In Alaska. Which he apparently thought was Russia. A promising start. Zelensky can rest easy - if Trump keeps up the pace on territorial swaps, Kyiv will be back under Ukrainian control by the year 2125.
There’s just one small detail - the leader of the invaded country won’t even be there. In Trump’s defence, this isn’t without precedent: at Versailles, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Germany were excluded too. That treaty worked out spectacularly.
Also missing? Europe. After years of indulging Trump’s tantrums - over Greenland, over trade deficits, over NATO budgets - Europe has finally learned the secret to winning with Trump: do nothing/get nothing. Do something/get nothing. It doesn't make any difference. So do what you want. He'll go along.
The truth is simple: Trump respects only those who defy him. Putin gets a summit after ignoring Trump’s pleading - “VLADIMIR, STOP” - and shelling. China gets tariff concessions after refusing to blink. Netanyahu gets a free pass to flatten Gaza because he built Tel Aviv-on-the-Strip against Trump’s “plan.” Allies who comply? They get invoice reminders and a loose splattering of insults.
Putin arrives in Alaska battered but smiling. With an ICC arrest warrant in one hand and a map of Ukraine in the other. He’s lost a million people, supercharged NATO, and turned Russia into an economic leper colony. But he holds stolen Ukrainian territory and can wave it like a trophy. He wants a parade in Moscow; Trump wants a headline in Mar-a-Lago.
The meeting is classic Trump: maximum spectacle, zero homework. Last time he met Putin, he took the Russian’s word over his own intelligence services. Victory for the rest of us this time will be leaving without declaring Russia innocent and NATO irrelevant.
The genius twist? It’s even better for Trump if Ukraine rejects the deal. Then he’s not the man who sold them out - he’s the man who could have ended the war if only the world had listened. Cue campaign rally applause.
This is the no-loss scenario Trump dreams of. Europe either picks up the bill for Ukraine - billions, maybe trillions, in U.S. made weapons - or fails to step up, letting Russia grind Ukraine down until Putin takes the whole thing. Either way, Trump wins: he “saved” 70% of Ukraine when others would have “lost” it all.
Europe? Screwed either way. They’ll either bankroll Ukraine without U.S. support - buying billions in American arms - or watch Russia grind Kyiv into dust. And all while China, India, and Brazil quietly eat their economic lunch.
Friday’s meeting isn’t about ending the war. It’s about Trump’s favourite game: looking like the only man who can make a deal, even if the deal is worthless.
Ukraine post a likely Trump withdrawal is Europe's big test. And they might just learn the oldest, bitterest truth in geopolitics: if you can’t beat ’em… someone else will make a deal without you.
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