Trump Team Faces Disappointment After Meeting with Putin

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Peter Alexander described the reaction of President Donald Trump’s team following his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Reporting on Friday, Alexander told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki that the mood among the Trump administration appeared disheartened after the closed-door discussions that aimed at ending Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

The much-anticipated meeting did not yield the desired ceasefire. Alexander observed the expressions of Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff during an interview. “Leavitt appeared to be a bit stressed out—anxious—their eyes were wide, almost ashen, at times,” he stated. “Those were some of the sort of images … that will stick with me as we leave here.”

After the three-hour meeting, Trump acknowledged during a joint press conference with Putin that the two nations “didn’t get there” on the peace deal he has been advocating for.

Putin opened the press conference and emphasized the need to address what he referred to as the “primary root causes” of his invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022. Alexander found it noteworthy that Trump allowed Putin to speak first.

The summit concluded over an hour earlier than planned, further highlighting the unusual circumstances. “Even by the standards they set, things ended abruptly, quickly here,” Alexander remarked to Psaki, who served as White House press secretary under former President Joe Biden.

Despite the summit being an opportunity for Trump to secure new sanctions on Russia, Putin left Alaska without facing any new penalties. Alexander noted, “The bottom line at the end of this is really that Vladimir Putin, who arrived here, in effect, a pariah on the world stage, gets to go home and try to say that he is now a partner with America, the largest superpower in the world.”

Following the press conference, Trump took to Truth Social with a series of posts expressing frustration over the media coverage surrounding the summit. He stated, “It’s incredible how the Fake News violently distorts the TRUTH when it comes to me. I had a great meeting in Alaska on Biden’s stupid War, a war that should have never happened!!!”