Helen Walters

You seem very confident that that will not happen, but I do wonder what Putin's take on this will be, and also if Putin might use this as an opportunity with eyes on Iran to exploit anything in Ukraine.

OK, so we also have to talk about what's happening in the US.

So obviously, one side of the House and the Senate is absolutely virulently against this.

There have been calls for impeachment, et cetera, et cetera.

What's more interesting to me is that the core of MAGA ideology is anti-war.

Now, that's not because of some kind of hippie ideals of peace, but it's really a kind of an extension of that isolationist, America first type of thinking.

But I think it's fair to say that this is not that.

So what I'm curious to hear from you is how do you think that Trump actually reassures his base that he hasn't betrayed them?

And how does he make it clear that he's not signing America up for an endless morass and mess in the Middle East?

Certainly, as you might say, I don't think I would ever dare.

Okay, so the NATO summit is meeting in The Hague this week.

What are you expecting to hear from that?

Ian, it is always a pleasure to talk to you.

Thank you so much for your wisdom.

I commented earlier before we started recording that you are always calm, not always calming.

In this case, actually, this was pretty calming too.

So we're very grateful for your insight and really happy that you could join us.

We'll see you again soon.

That was Ian Bremmer talking to me, Helen Walters, for our original series, TED Explains the World.

This conversation took place on June the 22nd, 2025.