Trump-Putin Meeting, Summit, or Trump Reality Show: Very Significant Stay Tuned

Eye-to-Eye, or Aye-to-Aye, or Brand New BFF’s

(Everyone holding their breath for outcome)

HELSINKI (AP) — A face-to-face sit-down with a long-time foe – not an ally.

Endless media hype. Huge ratings. Trump is eager to recreate in Finland the heady experience that he had last month with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore at that summit due to the mass media event complete with powerful presidential images.

Ever the showman and insistent on establishing closer ties to Moscow, Trump overruled his advisers and demanded the rituals and pageantry of a formal summit.

FYI: Trump had boasted to confidants about the number of cameras in Singapore, claiming it dwarfed coverage of the Oscars, according to a person familiar with his thinking who wasn’t authorized to discuss private conversations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Trump originally expressed concern that Helsinki was not glamorous enough and he favored hosting Putin at the White House. Trump was reassured by aides that it would be an effective backdrop.

Trump’s own words: “He’s been very nice to me the times I’ve met him. I’ve been nice to him. He’s a competitor. You know, somebody was saying: ‘Is he an enemy?’ No, he’s not my enemy. ‘Is he a friend?’ No, I don’t know him well enough,” he concluded.

Drawing on his experience as a marketer, salesman, expert deal maker, Trump has long been convinced that his mastery of powerful images has been essential to his political rise. 

Trump masterminded many of the looks for his meeting with Kim, including the leaders’ dramatic initial greeting and handshake and, later, their one-on-one time. At one point, he startled the Secret Service by giving Kim an impromptu tour of some mighty American machinery — the presidential limousine known as “The Beast.”

Trump believed that the historic meeting with Kim was potentially his ticket for a Nobel Peace Prize and would become an essential part of his legacy. While summits with Russian leaders are far more common, Trump believes a similar boost would occur if he can improve relations with Moscow and get Putin to make concessions never attained by President Barack Obama.

Trump’s proposed approach to Putin seen and heard on FOX News last month: “I could say: Would you do me a favor? Would you get out of Syria? Would you do me a favor? Would you get out of Ukraine?”

The imagery of Singapore made the idea of a Putin summit much more tantalizing even with the risks entailed in meeting an experienced leader who is also a former KGB official.

The president met with Putin on the sidelines of two international summits last year — first Germany, then Vietnam — and both times he invited his Russian counterpart to the White House, according to three of the current and former administration officials. He reiterated the invitation on a call with Putin this spring and initially told aides that he wanted to have the meeting at the White House.

Trump was later persuaded to do it abroad, tacking the summit onto his planned visit to Belgium and Britain. Initially concerned that Helsinki was not a fitting location, 

Trump relented after being briefed on the history of U.S.-Russia summits in Finland and after seeing that it could be scheduled after a visit to one of his golf courses in Scotland, according to the three of the outside advisers and officials.

Trump aides argued to Trump that the chances of substantive progress on a host of thorny issues, including Syria and Ukraine, are slim. Hovering over Helsinki is the specter of the 2016 election interference and the ongoing special counsel investigation into possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and Russia.

Then there were calls from Capitol Hill for the president to cancel the summit after the latest indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence officers accused of hacking Democrats in an effort to help Trump.

From Sen. John McCain: “If President Trump is not prepared to hold Putin accountable, the summit in Helsinki should not move forward.”

From U.S. Russian Amb John Huntsman on NBC’s “Meet the Press: “We’ve got a fraught bilateral relationship. The collective blood pressure between the United States and Russia is off-the-charts high so it’s a good thing these presidents are getting together.”

Trump repeatedly casts doubt on our Intelligence Agency’s conclusion that Russia was behind the hacking in 2016 and attempted election tampering. He always derides Mueller’s investigation as a “witch hunt.” In the UK, Trump said he would raise that meddling with Putin.

Trump emphasized no dramatic outcome is expected: “I don’t think you’ll have any ’Gee, I did it. I did it. You got me. There won’t be a Perry Mason here, I don’t think. But you never know what happens, right? But I will absolutely firmly ask the question.”

So....the bottom line as they say might be this most-interesting story and details therein with this headlines from The AP in the Chicago Tribune:

What Trump and Putin hope to achieve at Helsinki summit

Check it out – quite extensive article.

My 2 cents: Absolutes in play here:

(1) Yes, world leaders should always meet and try to resolve issues

(2)  Russia is not an ally.

(3)  Expectations run high with Trump – but not with anyone else (except Trump loyalists and staff).

(4)  Putin is skilled at this game (and yes, it is a high-stakes game), but not for Trump.

(5)  Considering all that has happened vis-à-vis Russian election tampering, Trump has to nail Putin on that – will he? Doubtful.

(6)  Putin at an expert at tap dancing and disinformation and such. 

(7)  Trump claims he is an expert negotiator about all things. 

A clash between the two might happen that is unless Putin plays a card we don't know about against Trump, or Trump concedes points only favorable to Russia and not us.

We are about to find out who is best at dealing on a host of critical issues that have a huge impact on our country and the future of our democracy.

Stay tuned as always and thanks for stopping by.