Karoline Leavitt Can’t Explain Why Trump Is So Optimistic About Putin
On Monday, President
Donald Trump was caught on a hot mic saying that he thought Russian President
Vladimir Putin wanted to
make a deal “for him,” to
end the war on Ukraine.
When a reporter asked
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday what led Trump to that conclusion,
she offered a meandering nonanswer.
‘Well, the president has
learned a lot, which is part of the reason he opened up this dialogue,”
Leavitt responded. “The previous administration who oversaw the
beginning of this war refused to talk, and President Trump has always said ‘in
order to learn, in order to move the ball forward with diplomacy and towards
peace, you have to have open dialogue. And so that’s why the president has had
several conversations by phone, and of course an in-person meeting last Friday
with President Putin … he’s understanding what both sides want, what both sides
are going to have to give up. And he has always said, ‘in order to get a good
deal, both sides are going to have to walk away a little bit unhappy.”
Reporter: “What has Trump learned that tells him that Putin would be willing to make a deal?”
Leavitt: “The president has learned a lot…He has always said in order to get a good deal, both sides are going to have to walk away a little bit unhappy.” pic.twitter.com/O0h4VbI1MO
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) August 19, 2025
In short, Leavitt once
again entirely avoided answering a very direct question.
Putin has not
significantly changed his behavior or goals recently, as far as we can tell.
And he has consistently shirked the idea of a ceasefire, while continuing to
batter Ukraine and encroach upon more of its territory. Any “deal” that happens
under these circumstances would only leave one side
“unhappy.”
