Ned Price

President Trump was having a conversation with President Macron, and there was a hot mic.

And President Trump sort of leaned over and said to him, said to President Macron,

I think Putin wants to make a deal.

I think he wants to make a deal for me.

Very clearly, Putin left Trump with the impression that, you know what?

I like you.

We can work together.

Let's do this together.

But he also left.

And I think this is the most important point.

President Trump left.

embracing not Ukraine's view, not Europe's shared view, but the Kremlin's view.

If you remember, Ben, President Trump went into the summit on Friday saying, essentially, if there's not an immediate unconditional ceasefire, won't be happy.

Moscow will face the severe consequences they were supposed to have faced the Friday before Trump's own self-imposed deadline.

And I'll walk away in two minutes if I don't hear that.

And then lo and behold, a couple hours later, the two men appear on stage together.

President Trump has fully embraced President Putin's vision of a so-called peace deal.

There was nothing to be heard or found of a ceasefire deal.

And he was saying things like, it's up to President Zelensky now to make peace.

So President Putin was absolutely successful.