George Will on Trump-Putin Meeting: 'Optics Are Terrible,' Putin Claims Victory

Historical Parallels and Concerns

• ⚠️ George Will draws a parallel between the Trump-Putin meeting and the Munich Conference of 1938, citing the historical precedent of appeasement and the exclusion of relevant parties (Czechoslovakia).
• 🎯 The meeting is framed as beginning with a terribly bad historical antecedent, raising concerns about the implications of democracies meeting with aggressive nations.

Limited Scope of Agreements

• 🎯 It's astonishing how much weight is being put on potential agreements, as land swaps cannot be agreed upon without Ukraine's presence.
• 🔒 Similarly, future security provisions for Ukraine, whether from European members or NATO, are difficult to negotiate, especially concerning restrictions on Ukraine's self-defense capabilities.

Putin's Strategic Victory

• 📸 The mere fact of Putin landing on American soil and ending his global isolation is described as a tremendous victory for Russia, regardless of any specific outcomes.
• 📉 This semi-summit is already a success for Russia because it counters the narrative of Putin's isolation, a point even Zelenskyy has acknowledged.

Putin's War and Expectations

• 💔 Killing innocent civilians is Putin's war plan, and his military has made little progress in Ukraine despite immense sacrifices.
• 🎖️ Russia's initial expectation of a quick victory parade in Kyiv, with troops bringing dress uniforms, highlights how poorly the invasion has gone for Putin.

Terrible Optics and Moral Equivalence

• 🚗 The optics of Trump and Putin riding together in the presidential limousine are described as terrible, giving a sense of moral equivalence to the aggressor.
• 🇺🇸 The United States president is seen as giving a kind of moral equivalence to the man who caused unprovoked aggression, creating a not pretty picture.
• 🤝 The meeting evokes memories of the 2018 Helsinki summit, a low point where Trump appeared to side with Putin over his own intelligence community.