Trump’s applause for Putin at summit could be ‘indelible image’ that haunts presidency, says journalist

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA: US President Donald Trump’s long-anticipated summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska ended without a breakthrough on Ukraine, but according to veteran Washington journalist Susan Glasser, one fleeting moment could define the event for years to come.

Speaking on MSNBC’s 'The Weekend' on Saturday, August 16, Glasser reflected on the optics of Trump hosting Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, where the Russian president arrived on US territory for the first time in ten years.

Even before talks began, Trump’s decision to roll out the red carpet for Putin drew sharp criticism from lawmakers and foreign policy observers.

Journalist Susan Glasser says Trump’s applause may outlast in public memory

Yet Susan Glasser argued it was Donald Trump’s personal reaction that may linger most in the public memory.

As Putin walked across the tarmac toward him, Trump stood clapping enthusiastically, a gesture she said carried symbolic weight far beyond diplomatic protocol.

“You know, I thought even by Trump's standards, to welcome the accused war criminal and sanctioned Vladimir Putin to the United States for the first time in a decade. Well, that's bad enough,” Glasser told hosts Eugene Daniels and Jonathan Capehart.

“But you can see, okay, Trump can justify that in terms of, you know, the larger goal of peace. But when I saw from the get-go that Trump was going to welcome him, not only with the full red carpet, literally applauding, literally applauding Vladimir Putin,” she added. 

The longtime New Yorker columnist suggested that this single moment of visible approval could become the defining visual of the meeting.

“You know, I could be wrong, but this is probably going to be the indelible image of the summit, you know, five years from now,” she said, adding, “It may not have any larger historical resonance depending on what happens later with Ukraine, but we're always going to remember that Donald Trump clapped for Vladimir Putin as the first greeting between the two men since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine.”

Trump appears ‘exhausted and broken’ after failed Ukraine peace talks with Putin

Despite Donald Trump’s assurances that the talks were “extremely productive,” the two sides failed to reach any agreement on a ceasefire.

The summit, marking the first face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin in years, was billed as a potential turning point in efforts to end Russia’s ongoing invasion. However, expectations of progress quickly gave way to disappointment as Trump conceded in his closing remarks that the negotiations ultimately “didn’t get there.”

Appearing alongside Putin at a joint press conference, Trump’s voice sounded hoarse and strained. 

Among the critics was Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton, who weighed in on the president’s demeanor. “I thought Trump looked very tired up there. I mean, very tired. Not disappointed. Tired. And we’ll have to reflect on what that means,” Bolton said in a televised interview.