Trump brags all the time that he’s accomplished more than any president in history which is, of course, so ridiculous it’s not even worth talking about. But one thing he can’t boast of is legislative or foreign policy achievements. The greatest deal-maker the world has never known can’t seem to make a deal.
So, he’s going to try to stage a big “statesman” moment before the election. And guess who he’s chosen to stage it with. You can’t make this stuff up…
President Donald Trump has told aides he’d like to hold an in-person meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the November election, according to four people familiar with the discussions.
Administration officials have explored various times and locations for another Trump-Putin summit, including potentially next month in New York, these people said.
The goal of a summit would be for the two leaders to announce progress towards a new nuclear arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia, the people familiar with the discussions said. One option under consideration is for the two leaders to sign a blueprint for a way forward in negotiations on extending New START, a nuclear arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia that expires next year, three of the people familiar with the discussions said.
They said Trump sees a summit as an opportunity to be presidential and demonstrate he’s able to negotiate agreements.
“He wants it to show his deal-maker abilities,” one of them said. “It’s just a big stage.”
I could be wrong but I don’t think palling around with Putin will give Trump quite the boost he thinks it will. It just reminds everyone that this guy seems to be the favorite of the Russian president for some unknown reason, and that Trump has embarrassed the country on the international stage over and over again.