Washington Fears Trump Will Be No Match for Putin

Susan Glasser: “Beyond the allure of aggrandizement and the mystery of President Trump’s affinity for the Russian strongman, why the meeting is taking place now remains a mystery. Is the purpose to discuss arms control? Syria? Ukraine? To rehash the 2016 election? Remarkably, it’s not clear, and that is and of itself marks this as a most unusual summit.”

“Needless to say, one preparatory trip, no formal agenda, and no ‘deliverables’ is not normal for a summit between the heads of the world’s two biggest nuclear-armed nations. Washington usually spends months, or even years, working up to a meeting between the President and the leader of Russia. But not this time.”