As this week got underway, Donald Trump appeared principally focused on whining about Bruce Springsteen and Beyoncé, but the president eventually managed to shift his attention to a key phone meeting with Vladimir Putin about Russia’s war in Ukraine. As NBC News reported, their discussion, which lasted more than two hours, didn’t amount to much.
President Donald Trump spoke with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other leaders in separate calls Monday, in an attempt to stop the “bloodbath” of the war in Ukraine. But the president’s outreach was inconclusive, and there was little sign of a breakthrough.
While the Republican seemed eager to celebrate his attempts at diplomacy by way of his social media platform — he specifically wrote online, “The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent” — there was little evidence of meaningful progress. Trump boasted that Russia and Ukraine would soon hold discussions about a possible ceasefire, but there were no available details about when and where those talks might happen.
Complicating matters, Putin’s statement about the phone meeting was far more muted than his American counterpart’s reaction.
Taken together, the news was hardly encouraging: In the wake of a key diplomatic opportunity, Trump backed off his own goal of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, instead setting the stage for possible negotiations about a possible ceasefire, which might ultimately lead to a possible resolution.
The larger timeline paints an even less flattering picture for the American president.
Trump’s Plan A for the war in Ukraine was ending the conflict within 24 hours by way of a secret strategy he assured voters was real. When it became obvious that his strategy didn’t actually exist, Trump moved on to Plan B: He told Russia that if it failed to end the conflict quickly, the White House “would have no other choice” but to impose new economic sanctions.
It was an approach the Republican tried in January, early March, late March and early May, but in each instance, Putin ignored the threats, and Trump failed to follow through.
That paved the way for Plan C: Trump administration officials, including the U.S. envoy to Ukraine, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, recently met with traditional U.S. allies and settled on a specific strategy: If Moscow didn’t agree to a ceasefire, he’d face a new round of international economic penalties, including from the United States.
Almost immediately thereafter, Trump rejected his own administration’s plan, announcing Plan D: He endorsed Putin’s call for bilateral talks and directed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to participate in direct negotiations in Turkey. That plan also failed when Putin decided not to go to the talks that Putin said he wanted.
Trying to justify the failure, the American president argued a few days ago that this plan didn’t work out because he wasn’t personally on hand for the discussions in Turkey, though he also added, “I was never scheduled to go.” Of course, this explanation quickly collapsed on itself: If Trump’s participation was necessary, and he was never scheduled to be there, why did he direct Zelenskyy to go? It was at this point when Trump said the only path forward — Plan E? — was direct talks between him and Putin. And he’s apparently now changed his mind about that, too. The New York Times summarized: [W]hile Mr. Trump presented the start of peace talks as a concession by Mr. Putin, he was largely endorsing Mr. Putin’s own approach, given that Russia has responded to calls to stop the fighting by proposing extended negotiations. Now, Mr. Trump appears to be prepared to step back and urge Russia and Ukraine to make a deal directly with each other. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine expressed concern about that, saying on Monday after he held two calls with Mr. Trump that “the negotiation process must involve both American and European representatives at the appropriate level.”
European leaders were reportedly “stunned” by the American leader’s deference toward his Russian counterpart. It led The Washington Post’s Max Boot to conclude, “Putin is playing him for a fool, and Trump doesn’t even seem to realize it.” I can’t wait to see what Plan G entails.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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