Putin Is Playing with Trump

The master at establishing leverage in negotiations has failed to do so over the president of Russia.

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Left: Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, May 13, 2025. Right: President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., March 26, 2025.

Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via Reuters; Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

It was never going to be easy for President Trump to bring an end to the Ukraine war, but it’s even harder when he’s operating under an erroneous theory of the conflict.

The man who instigated the war and who is the chief obstacle to peace is Vladimir Putin. Yet, this enemy of the West, murderer of dissidents, and serial perpetrator of wars of territorial aggrandizement has never been subjected to the same U.S. pressure campaign as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose fundamental offense is to be leading a country that his larger neighbor wants to subjugate.

Rich Lowry

About the Author

Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry is the editor in chief of National Review.

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